Re: General Router Question(s)

From: Paul J Gans (gans_at_panix.com)
Date: 08/28/04 

Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2004 03:49:10 +0000 (UTC)

David Wright <david_c_wright@hotmail.com> wrote:
>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?

No, good explanation. Mine is, using your terminology, a
wireless internet router.

   ---- Paul J. Gans

Relevant Pages