Airport Extreme Settings (Security)

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Airport Extreme Settings (Security)

Hello,

I have an Airport Extreme (802.11n Wi-Fi) that I purchased in December, 2010. I love it and have had no problems. The setup was extremely easy and I've been very impressed with performance.

I am concerned though, that when I first set it up I didn't pay enough attention to the security settings. I'm "paranoid" about getting hacked and want to make sure I max out my protection. But, I'm a bit afraid of mucking around with it since it is working great and messing something up.

I would like to change the wireless network name. And also reset passwords (WPA2 etc.). And also, ensure that I have max. security protection settings on. I've read the documentation but still unsure of the correct way to do this and avoid messing things up.

Also, is it a good idea to turn on the MacBook Pro's internal firewall? I have a DSL modem that connects to the Extreme. Will, I get a performance hit in network speed by turning on the MacBook Pro's firewall?

I guess that's it for now and thanks in advance for the help regarding these questions.

DMerz

Airport Extreme (802.11n Wi-Fi)-OTHER, MC340LL/A Model No. A1354

Posted on May 16, 2011 10:19 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Bob Timmons

Community+ 2024

Level 10

159,326 points

May 16, 2011 10:26 AM in response to DMerz

WPA2 Personal lSecurity and a non-dictionary password are your best defense.

Don't bother with "closed networks' or things like that. There are dozens of free utilities on the Internet that will reveal a closed network in seconds.

If you want to change the wireless network name and/or password, here is how to do this:

Open AirPort Utility - Click Manual Setup

Click the Wireless tab located just below the row of icons

Edit the Wireless Network Name as you wish

Edit the Wireless Password as you wish and Confirm

Click Update to save your changes

Your AirPort Extreme provides an excellent NAT firewall for your network. There is really no need to enable the firewall on your computer if you are connected to the AirPort Extreme.

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Answer 2

DMerz Author

Level 1

20 points

May 16, 2011 10:44 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Bob,

Excellent and thanks for the very prompt reply!

Is the WPA2 Personal ISecurity default when the Extreme is configured? Or do I need to turn that feature on? I know I have a WPA2 password, so assume that is for the WPA2 Personal ISecurity? I'm probably just getting terminology confused.

Sorry for the dumb questions. It's probably pretty obvious I'm a computer newbie... 😊

Thanks,

DMerz

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Answer 3

May 16, 2011 1:55 PM in response to DMerz

WPA2 Personal is the default setting for the AirPort Extreme, so it will be setup that way unless things have been changed.

You can check this setting at the same time that you change the wireless network name and password.

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Answer 4

DMerz Author

Level 1

20 points

May 17, 2011 11:12 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Bob,

Got it and made the changes successfully. Thanks for the excellent help!

DMerz

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