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Chris - 20 Jun 2006 23:16 GMT

Hello. I have home network setup using Linksys. Wireless connection with a
laptop shows someone outside of my network on my network with a lock on his
profie. Does this mean he/she has access to my network along with the PCs on
it? How do I remedy this situation. Many thanks in advance!

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Steve Winograd [MVP] - 20 Jun 2006 23:47 GMT

>Hello. I have home network setup using Linksys. Wireless connection with a
>laptop shows someone outside of my network on my network with a lock on his
>profie. Does this mean he/she has access to my network along with the PCs on
>it? How do I remedy this situation. Many thanks in advance!

I'm not sure what you're describing, but I suspect that it's a list of
the available wireless networks. If so, it's probably telling you
that one of your neighbors has a wireless network, and that the
network is encrypted (requires a network key to connect). That
doesn't mean that anyone has access to your network.

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Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

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Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
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Chris - 21 Jun 2006 00:44 GMT

Steve thanks for the kind reply! Does this mean that he sees my network also?
Does he have access to my network? I say that because I have no password on
mine. It has been a while now, how do I create a password for the network so
that every pc upon getting to the network signing in?

> >Hello. I have home network setup using Linksys. Wireless connection with a
> >laptop shows someone outside of my network on my network with a lock on his
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> network is encrypted (requires a network key to connect). That
> doesn't mean that anyone has access to your network.

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Steve Winograd [MVP] - 21 Jun 2006 06:23 GMT

>> >Hello. I have home network setup using Linksys. Wireless connection with a
>> >laptop shows someone outside of my network on my network with a lock on his
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>mine. It has been a while now, how do I create a password for the network so
>that every pc upon getting to the network signing in?

You're welcome, Chris. If you can see your neighbor's network, your
neighbor can probably see your network and connect to it.

Your wireless router's user manual should have information on how to
enable encryption and define a network key. Use the strongest type of
encryption that your equipment supports. From weakest to strongest,
the common encryption types are:

64-bit WEP
128-bit WEP
WPA
WPA2

If your computer runs Windows Me, it might not have WPA or WPA2. In
that case, use 128-bit WEP.

This web page should help:

4 steps to set up your home wireless network
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/wirelesssetup.mspx

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