I mentioned in an earlier post I was having trouble with others leeching bandwidth on my wireless network. I currently have two macs and a laser printer on my wireless network and I am using a Linksys BEFSR41 Cable/DSL Router. The macs and printer are connected via wireless bridges. I have managed to access the router through Safari and am able to configure the settings and what not... I believe I can also access the DHCP Clients Table to determine who is currently connected. The Table also shows the IP's assigned by the router and the client's MAC Address.<br><br>My question is; can I tell the router to support known friendly MAC Addresses and ignore others? Should I invoke the WEP, and if I do will it preclude me from doing those "web" kinds of things I like doing? i.e., web-conferencing, downloading/uploading?<br><br><br><br>"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates

limit the number of connections to however many computers you have. you ca n also have the MAC table only allow connections from known MAC addresses.<br><br>

If I limit the number of connections allowed is it possible that one of the leeches could log on before I do, denying me access to my own network?<br><br>The Linksys configuration software has an advanced tab giving me access to a feature called Filters. The filters are Filtered Private IP Range, Filtered Private Port Range, and Private MAC Filter. All three are designed to allow me to add exceptions; prevent certain computers on the network from accessing my internet connection.<br><br>The Private MAC Filter has an edit button providing access to a table labeled Filtered MAC Address with places to enter 50 MAC addresses. I suppose I enter the MAC addresses of the leeches here? How do I find out what their MAC address is?<br><br><br><br>"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates

when they are leeching look at the MAC table, you will get their address.<br><br><br><br>

also, just turn WEP on and require a password, easiest solution<br><br>

Enable MAC address filtering.<br>If your wireless products—such as access points and routers—offer it, enable MAC address filtering. The MAC address is a unique series of numbers and letters assigned to every networking device. With MAC address filtering enabled, wireless network access is provided solely for wireless devices with specific MAC addresses. This makes it harder for a hacker to access your network using a random MAC address.<br><br>This passage was copied from Linksys' website. If I'm reading this correctly, it states that I enter addresses of my macs right?<br><br><br><br>"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates

yes<br><br>