Wifi router info needed

[ShefStealth 10]

Make sure you used WPA-PSK and not WEP - WEP was broken long ago and can't be considered secure anymore. WPA (version 1) has also been broken but still takes a while to crack. WPA2 is now the most secure standard if it's available to you, but has to be supported by both router and clients (PCs/laptops/phones etc.) in order to be usable.

 

For a WPA-PSK (WPA means Wireless Protected Access - PSK means Pre-Shared Key and it's the PSK part that means that you'll specify the password) The PSK doesn't need to be in HEX, it's usually alpha-neumeric.

[melthebell 862]

ah cheers for the info shef its wep 1 im on, tommorow ill have a go at changing it to wpa....see if it likes mi password lol

 

only mentions wep 1 not sure this router does 2, would a firmware update alter it?

 

edit:- in fact ive just had a look and it is wpa im using, some neighbours are on wpa.....some are unsecured too lol

eventually ill get a better router that does 2

Edited February 12, 2012 by melthebell

[melthebell 862]

hmmmm i seem to have weird intermittant connection problems??

 

currently, certain forums/sites open fine, but some just wont open, even ones i was using, occasionly if i refresh they lose connection.

same with my msn, was running ok on the wifi laptop, suddenly it popped up telling me id lost connection........but some websites were still opening ok.

im currently on my cabled pc and msn still wont open, nor will certain other sites such as ebuddy.com and strangely enough microsofts pages when i click on the msn error message for more info???

yet a downloads still downloading on this pc

 

is this a warning of things to come doesnt seem very fun to me

[ShefStealth 10]

That sounds like DNS lookups are timing out, seen as you're proving that you're still connected by streaming downloads remaining active. If you're using ISP supplied DNS (i.e it's auto-configured when you connect) then I'd suggest switching to something like OpenDNS.

 

In post 7 you mentioned Pipex - They were bought out by Tiscali a while ago and Tiscali have now been bought out by TalkTalk. They're probably going to be in the midst of changing a load of back-end systems at the moment, and some of their servers might be being overly contended and hence groaning under the strain.

 

I personally use OpenDNS because I think it's faster and potentially less liable to certain exploits than my own ISP's DNS. I use the logic that if there's more people using OpenDNS and there's more eyes maintaining it as that's their core business, then issues should be picked up and resolved quicker with it. It seems to be quicker than my own ISP's DNS too.

 

If you want to use OpenDNS, there's video tutorials at http://www.opendns.com/support/videos that help you to set it up. You don't need to fill in any online forms/register for an OpenDNS account if you don't want to - that basically is to configure DNS filtering remotely from them i.e block stuff that you don't want to view. This is good for blocking malicious sites but isn't necessary. You can still benefit from using it without registering, it'll just work like your own ISPs DNS by translating URLs to IPs without filtering, and hopefully it'll be faster and more reliable for you.

[ShefStealth 10]

Re-reading the problem more carefully, the other alternative may be that the download you're doing is maxing out the bandwidth of the connection and other connections to other stuff at the same time is timing out. Might also be wise to check the manual for the router and enable QoS (Quality of Service) settings if it has them. Also ensure that QoS is enabled on all your client PCs.

[melthebell 862]

after the download finished (which was slow) i unplugged the router and plugged back in, now im on all 4 forums again and on msn, and hotmail works again....on both cabled and wireless pcs

[melthebell 862]

its just happened again

 

had 4 forums open and talkin to somebody on msn, suddenly all the forums came up with a server not found page when i tried refreshing em, strangely tho msn was still working and i could type to them, but they posted a couple of links to houses for rent to show me but when i clicked them they came up with the same error pages.

 

all back to normal now since i unplugged the router for a few seconds and reconnected to the wifi connection

 

definitely sounds like dns related?

[melthebell 862]

as a tester ive stuck the dns servers given to me by my isp into the dns section of the router setup page.

ive saved the one that was in there first........theyre different

 

also ive stuck in a prefered and a secondary, the secondary one was blank before, see how long it lasts this time, also saved the video for that opendns video so i can check it out later

[ShefStealth 10]

It might be that you've been on sub-optimal DNS servers at your ISP and they're being overloaded. If the new manually assigned ones are still being flaky, just change 'em for OpenDNS's ones for a few hours and see if it makes a difference (as I said, you don't need to register for the service if you don't want to/won't make use of the extra filtering that they offer)

 

Primary DNS

208.67.222.222

 

Secondary DNS

208.67.220.220

 

And see if that makes a difference. Hope it helps.

[melthebell 862]

It might be that you've been on sub-optimal DNS servers at your ISP and they're being overloaded. If the new manually assigned ones are still being flaky, just change 'em for OpenDNS's ones for a few hours and see if it makes a difference (as I said, you don't need to register for the service if you don't want to/won't make use of the extra filtering that they offer)

 

Primary DNS

208.67.222.222

 

Secondary DNS

208.67.220.220

 

And see if that makes a difference. Hope it helps.

cheers dude ive saved those offline just in case

[melthebell 862]

hmmm the usual sites i use work, msn works....for now

 

BUT

 

ive just googled for comodo and avast and the links i clicked didnt work, came up with the same cant find server errors

 

strangely i cant access their official sites but can download em off cnet Oo

Edited February 13, 2012 by melthebell

[TalkTalkRep 10]

Hi,

 

If you have not had a router form TT Beofre we can supply one.

 

Feel free to tweet us @TalkTalkCare or join the Members Forum where we can arrange delivery as appropriate.

 

Regards

 

Mark

TalkTalk Online Community Department