How do I change the name of my Wireless network?

Question

The cable company named it by my first name...I'd rather not have that on the wireless networks in a huge apartment complex...can I change it? How??

Answer 1

Here's how to do that and a few other simple security measures.

To do these, you'll have to enter your default gateway's IP address into a browser address window.  I'll show you at the bottom how to find it.

Note: It’s best to do them from a computer cabled (even just temporarily) to the router rather than wirelessly, especially since wireless administration will be deactivated by step #1.

1. Deactivate wireless access to your router's administration web pages so only a computer connected via an Ethernet cable can reach them.  This won’t affect wireless use of the Internet, just wireless administration. Even if you don’t want to leave a computer connected via a cable, leave the cable there for when you need it.  Here are some horror stories of people who didn't:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

2. Turn off the SSID (network name) broadcast from the router.  There's no need to advertise your network's presence.  You're not running a hotspot; everyone who should be on your network should know its name.

3. Change your SSID from the default.  Hackers know that routers come with default SSIDs and look for them.

4. Set up encryption with an encryption key.  The longer, the better. WPA (if your network and all your computers can support 802.11G) is better than WEP.  WEP is better than nothing.

5. Limit access to only the computers you want on the network via MAC filtering. (MAC refers to unique NIC (Network Interface Card) addresses, not Macintosh computers, and not IP addresses.)  This isn't a defense against hardcore freeloaders -- it's possible to fake MAC addresses -- but it keeps out casual interlopers.

6. Change the range of and/or limit the number of automatically assigned IP addresses (DHCP) to reduce the chance of extra users.  Again, hackers know what ranges routers come from the factory with.  Changing them makes it a little harder to hop on board.

Generally, to access your router’s administration pages, hook up a computer directly to the router and enter the router’s local IP address into a browser’s address window.  

Here's how to find your default gateway's IP address:

1. Click on the Start button.

2. Click Run...

3. In the text box, type in  

cmd

and press Enter

4. A black "DOS box" window will pop up.  Type into it  

ipconfig  /all

and press Enter.

5. A bunch of seeming gibberish will fill the screen.  On the line next to "Default Gateway" the IP address should appear.

That should go far toward hardening your wireless network.

Good luck.

Answer 2

In the bottom-right of your screen, double-click the computer icon.  This will bring up the network connection window.  Go to the 'support' tab and look at 'Default Gateway'.  It should be something like 192.168.1.1, but it might not be.  Open up a new web browser window and go to http://192.168.1.1 or whatever the default gateway is.  If you are prompted to enter a password and you didn't set one up, just leave the username blank and enter 'admin' or '12345' for the password.  If that doesn't work, you should call the cable company for the password.  Be sure to change the password to something you'll remember once you're logged in.  It should be on the 'administration' page or something similar.  Once you're logged in to the router, you should be able to navigate to a page with wireless settings.  There, you can change your network name or 'SSID'.  Once you apply the changes, you will be booted from the network, and you can connect to the new network name.

Also, be sure to enable wireless security and set up a password so other people can't leech your internet.