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GabeU's avatar
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV
9 years ago

Question about D-Link router settings...

I just set up a new D-Link router, as my Netgear router was getting a little temperamental.  The settings are nothing like my Netgear settings, which actually had a program to get into them.  With the D-Link it's through the address bar.  The only options it gives me in the wireless settings is  "Disable Wireless Security (Not recommended)" and "AUTO-WPA/WPA2 (Recommended)".  I imagine I would choose the 2nd, right? 

I often see people saying to disable WAP, but I don't see anything for it. 

Any help as to what settings I need to change, what to change them to, and how to change them would be greatly appreciated. 

Also, does D-Link have a program, like Netgear does, so that you can get into more advanced settings, or is the address bar method and the few things that are able to be changed through such the only way?  

Thanks for the help.   

  • GabeU's avatar
    GabeU
    Distinguished Professor IV
    9 years ago

    With the mydlink thing, as long as I don't actually download the aps or whatever, just having the account won't do anything with the cloud, right? 

  • Gwalk900's avatar
    Gwalk900
    Honorary Alumnus
    9 years ago

    Hi Gabe,

    I'm late to the party again :)

    It is real easy to get WEPs and WAPs and so on mixed up.

    WAP is going to stand for Wireless Access Point:

    Short version is ... that is what you would have if you connected a router and did not enable DHCP on that router. It simply would be a wireless access point.

    WPS stands for Wireless Protected Setup:

    WPS was intended to allow "one button" wireless setup but due to some known vulnerabilities it has been recommended to disable this function.

    Remote Access and other "cloud" type functions can leave a network vulnerable and many sources recommend not enabling or setting up these remote accounts.

    There are THREE different parts to a router:

    #1: The "internal settings" pages ... this is where configuration settings are stored.

    That area is accessed by entering the routers LAN IP into a browser. For a Hughes connection a LAN IP of 192.168.1.1 is suggested so as to avoid any addressing conflicts with the Hughes Modem which is hard wired for 192.168.0.1

    The router will come from the manufacturer with a default username and password.

    It is important that these default values be changed in order to limit access to the routers internal settings and permissions.

    We have to remember that that username and password does not offer any protection against outside connections both wired and wireless.

    #2: Wired connections:

    There is no practical protection against wired connections. Any device connected to one of the Routers LAN ports will have access to your Internet services.

    Physical possession is everything. The LAN ports are there as well as the routers "factory reset" button.

    The above refers to the wired aspects of the router.

    #3: Wireless connections:

    Wireless security is handled a little differently.

    It its default state there is no wireless encryption enabled. Any device within range can and will connect to the network.

    To that end there are various encryption levels available.

    They would begin with "none" that is to say an open network

    Other levels are:(in increasing strength)


    WEP

    WPA-PSK [TKIP]

    WPA2-PSK [AES]

    WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES]


    WEP is no longer recommend due to the ease of breaking that encryption level.

    Use the strongest method all of your devices can handle but the "norm" is WPA2.

    I do have to say that I use WEP because of the age of a couple of my older devices BUT ... I am so far off the beaten path that no one can come within range and I use that minimal encryption levels simply to exclude a connection by someone's cell phone that comes to visit.

    But again .. I'm really out in the sticks.


     



    • GabeU's avatar
      GabeU
      Distinguished Professor IV
      7 years ago

      I know that this thread is old, but I had to set up a replacement router of the same model and I couldn't remember the exact settings, though I remembered I had asked before.  The information I needed was further back in the thread (thanks, BirdDog), but I was getting ready to write a thank you for the additional, detailed information Greg gave.  I had forgotten.  :(  

       

      Thank you, nonetheless, Greg.  We miss you.  

  • Amanda's avatar
    Amanda
    Moderator
    9 years ago
    I like Gwalk's break down on this... very detailed! I will bookmark this because I have a lot of trouble too. Personally at home I have the same router as Charles Scott (Netgear Nighthawk) and I had an issue with the router dropping connectivity all the time, which in turn made me have to be very detailed in my device access.

    I have it set up as WPA2-PSK where the router is the DHCP but devices connected are limited to manually entered MAC addresses and provided their own IP as well as each MAC and IP are appropriately labeled. Even if the password is known, a device cannot connect to my network unless its MAC address is entered in the router and it is manually assigned a custom local IP.  I also had to restrict 5GHz because it was interfering with my wireless headphones.  I run a tight ship.

    Amanda