Re: General Router Question(s)

From: David Wright (david_c_wright_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 08/27/04 

Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 08:55:17 +0200

Paul J Gans wrote:

> David Wright <david_c_wright@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>James Knott wrote:
>
>>> Paul wrote:
>>>
>>>> Does a wireless router hooked up to a cable modem have to be physically
>>>> connected (via an ethernet cable) to at least one PC??in?the?network
>>>
>>> No, though it's a good idea to connect a computer to it, when
>>> configuring the router.
>>>
>
>>Many of them only have a 10/100 port for connecting to the backbone. There
>>is no direct connection method. Once it is connected to the backbone, you
>>can contact it through the backbone and edit the config pages, but it
>>isn't necessary, you can doit wirelessly - unless a drive-by-hacker
>>manages to reconfigure it before you can turn on the security :-P
>
>>I was thinking as I re-read the thread, Asus and a couple of others do PCI
>>cards (and in Asus' case also a proprietary card) which also act as a
>>wireless router... The are AFAIK the only ones that *require* a PC for
>>access...
>
> I'm not sure I'm following this. My home router, and older Linksys,
> can *only* be configured from the local side, not from the internet
> side. To do it any other way would be to invite hacking.
>
> And it needs a hard wire connection for configuration. It will
> NOT allow configuration from a wireless connection. Again, as
> you point out, this is a severe security threat.
>
> But then, perhaps I misunderstood something?
>
> ---- Paul J. Gans

OK, depends on whether it is a Wireless router (and therefore plugs into the
existing back-bone of your network, or a Wireless Internet router, which
plugs into your cable modem and provides wireless access direct to the
internet (and possible some local wired 10/100 ports as well).

A WIRELESS router is just that, it allows wireless devices to be integrated
into an existing network. It will have one RJ45 port to allow it to be
connected to a switch or router. These will allow anyone on the local lan
(the one to which it is wired) to set it up (as long as they have the admin
password - so first thing to do is change it! ;-) ), but anyone outside
the firewall or on another segment with NAT translation inbetween won't be
able to see it. Depending on the manufacturer, you can sometimes edit the
configuration directly over the Wireless connection (useful if you only
have wireless devices, but a bit insecure).

The problem with configuring wirelessly is that if you change the IP range,
set WEP or other levels of encryption and protection, then you will be
locked out of the router until you make the same changes on the local
machine. Mis-type the wep address and that's it. The only way back on would
be to make a factory reset of the router...

A WIRELESS INTERNET router will provide a wired port for connecting to a
cable modem or DSL modem (normally either RJ45 or USB). It will not allow
access to the configuration pages over this port, you are correct here.

Many of these products also provide around 4 RJ45 10/100 ports for cabled
machines to also access the internet. Any device plugged into the "local"
RJ45 ports will be able to configure the router.

I hope I've cleared things up a bit, or still as clear as mud?

Dave

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