How Do I Configure NetGear RT314?

[Carbo]

It's probably fairly basic for most here, but maybe some of you can share the knowledge.
Running W2K Pro SP2, home PC, no networking of any kind, using AT&T RoadRunner with a Toshiba PCX1000 cable modem. Found a great deal last week on a NetGear RT314 Router. My understanding is this type of hardware firewall is superior to the software equivalent, such as Zone Alarm, which is what I'm using now. The hardware installation is easy enough. But now comes all sorts of things I don't know: TCP/IP, subnet masks, domain names, etc. The installation guide, for me at least, is too vague. So far, with the router in place I have been unable to get my internet connection. For now it's disconnected. Can anyone assist me in getting this setup done correctly? Thank you.

 

[Parn]

1) connect dsl/cable modem to RT314
2) connect NIC to RT314
3) Go to Control Panel --> Network
-under "configuration" tab, click on "Add..."
-Select Protocol --> Microsoft --> TCP/IP (this will install TCP/IP for your NIC)
-click Ok. (you will probably have to reboot here)
4) Turn on router, wait for it to initialize.
5) Open IE (or any other web browser) and open address "http://192.168.0.1"
6) Follow directions to configure your router to connect to your ISP.

If it is not working, check the following

-goto Start --> Run... --> msipcfg.exe
-choose your NIC from list, and make sure IP is 192.168.0.x (x = anything from 2 thru 31)

 

[Carbo]

Thanks, Parn. When I open Control Panel, I see Network and Dial-up Connections. Is this what you mean? From there I see two choices: Make New Connection and Local Area Connection. I don't see a configuration tab to follow your instructions. And when I go to Start>Run and type in msipcfg.exe I receive an error window telling me that the file cannot be found.

 

[CTR]

Carbo:

Try going to the cmd prompt (start-->run-->cmd <enter> ) and typing &quot;ipconfig&quot; to get your ip configuration. I believe parn's directions would work for win9x maybe.

Right click on you &quot;local area network connection&quot; and make sure TCP/IP is installed and checked. I don't have any hands-on with this particular router, but I can at least help a bit with the win2k stuff.

[edit: accidentally got a winking smiley face on my directions-- changed it]

 

[Parn]

Ah, you are right. I missed the Win2k part. I was referring to win9x/ME directions.
I don't have win2k, but i would guess that's the place you want to be, and go to LAN connections to install TCP/IP. I'm sure CTR is more familiar with Win2k than me =P

sorry to get your hopes up.

 

[Carbo]

Parn, no problemo. CTR, the command prompt worked, of course, and I do have some specifics which might come in handy such as IP address and default gateway. TCP/IP is installed and checked, also.

 

[SharkB8]

Right off the bat go here and download the complete manual for your router in Adobe format and read it all. It will walk you through the setup of your router step-by-step. It will explain how to setup TCP/IP in Windows 2000. If you are on Road Runner it is probably a DHCP type provider rather than PPPoe so those are the directions you need to follow. Initial setup with the RT314 is easy and it almost sets up itself as long as you have a few key settings correct. You are right, the router comes with very sketchy literature.
This is how I would deal with your modem and NIC. Shutoff your system and remove the modem (if you don't plan to use dial up anymore). Then boot up your system and let it figure out that the modem is gone then shut it down again. Next, install you NIC, hook it up to your router and modem and boot up your system. Depending on what NIC you have, 2K may have the drivers already resident. If not, you will need to go through the install process. For initial setup of the RT314 you will use your brower interface by entering the IP address 192.168.0.1, the username &quot;admin&quot;, and the password &quot;1234&quot;.

You are right that your router is a better firewall than any software type firewall you could have. NAT protects you, in and of itself, very well. I used to run Zone Alarm as well because it would tell me if any application I installed was trying to go out and update itself. The router won't do that. You have the option of configuring more elaborate filter sets in this router to block out the unwanted traffic (packets). It took me a long time to figure out how to do this and a lot of studying but it is worth it. This is a good place to begin research for this router. There are many overqualified people here that can answer any question you have.

I have had an RT314 since January and love it. I have never had to reboot and have only shut it down due to lightning in the area. If you get another computer or laptop all you have to do is plug into the router and your networked. Once you get up and running you'll like it a lot and the protection it provides you. Remember that while a cable hookup is nice for you, it's a dream-come-true for a good cracker that could literally gut your system just for fun. I think a router is requirement for anyone on a broadband connection but that's just opinion. Good luck!

 

[Carbo]

Hi, SharkB8. That's for the reply. A lot of good, helpful info at those two links you provided.
Damn, there is so much to understand and learn about securing a PC!

 

[SharkB8]

Carbo- We meet again. Yes, there is a lot to learn but it's worth your time to do it. I have an elaborate set of filters set up in my router and its monitored by a sysloging program that tells me everytime a packet is dropped. I am always amazed by the number of unsolicited packets that get dropped in a 24 hour period. Some days it's as many as 40. Many of these are benign net bios probes or those searching for FTP sites. But others are malicious in nature. I have no less than 10 attempts a day on port 27374 which is commonly used to communicate with the Sub-Seven virus. I have had repeated attempts to telnet into my router. This is a good reason to change your password from &quot;1234&quot; to a strong password.

Stay with this, you'll figure out. When I began 7 months ago I didn't even understand the concept behind ports and now I have customized my own firewall. Good luck!

 

[Carbo]

SharkB8, I am especially paranoid now after having read Steve Gibson's article about some recent attacks on his site, grc.com
The article can be found here. It's become an extremely popular read in the past few days so you may have some difficulty getting on at first. Try again, it's well worth it.
In your opinion, do you recommend I continue to run Zone Alarm along with the NetGear router as extra security? Or does this amount to overkill with a properly configured router? And at the risk of revealing my ignorance, what is a &quot;dropped packet&quot;? Also, why is it a security risk is an installed program is trying to go OUT from your system?
I told you.......so much to know..........so little time.

 

[Jean]

It is a very interesting posting. One question Sharkb8, is it normal that when you go to an ftp site the site login welcome message see exactly what is your computer name, domain name etc. Does this mean that the router is not setup correctly? Any additional information is greatly appreciated.

 

[SharkB8]

That is a good article and should be a wake up call to everyone. Like I said, I used to run Zone Alarm even after setting up my router. I still keep it on my system but I don't run it all the time like I used to. The main reason is that I had big problems sharing files and printing between my networked system. I am sure this was just a &quot;settings thing&quot; that I didn't spend enough time to figure out but I guess I just feel sufficiently protected without it running all the time.
As far as applications updating themselves without my permission, that is something that really bothers me. The one that comes to mind is Real Player. I could never figure out a way to keep it from doing that so it is my policy to NOT put it on any system. My Creative Labs software also tried to do that but I figured out how to stop it. I guess I'm just a little funny that way and want total control over my systems. I have no tolerance for what I deem as rogue programs. I now fire up Zone Alarm after installing something new just to see what it's doing.

No stupid questions. Data come in from your internet connection is divided up into what are called &quot;packets&quot;. Each packet is divided up in to sections that define where the packet is going, what type of protocol it is (TCP,UDP,ICMP,IGMP,ect) and what type of data is contained in it. This is a very simplified definition. Filter rules in your firewall examine designated parts of each packet for size or content and either accepts or drops the packet depending on how you have it configured. You can make your firewall as lax or stringent as you want. For example mine is set up to block ping requests but accept my ping replies. In other words I can ping others but they can't ping me...unless I want them to be able to. If you have kids and need to make a web site inaccessible you can block that IP address in your outgoing filter sets. Or if a chat program has become a problem, block the ports that the program uses. Bear in mind that there are always ways around these problems and kids will figure those ways out but these are examples of what you can do using packet filtering.

 

[SharkB8]

Jean- I'm sorry but I don't know the answer to your question. This does seem a little weird though. Obviously the site is requesting this information from your system and it is sending it. This is one of the valuable uses of the syslog program that I referred to. One of my filters is configured to drop all unsolicited packets and I think this would show up as one. The syslog program would give me the source IP address, the source port, and the destination port. I could then use this info to maybe figure out what they are doing. Maybe the FTP site is configured to only let you in if they get this information back from your system. I really don't know.

 

[SkylineHKS]

Hi all, just for your information, to setup the RT314, you need to spoof the address of the existing network cards adress in to the router or you have to register the last set of digits on the bottom of the router with you ISP before it can work, the netgear guy told me... b/c I have one too! and they are great!

 

[SharkB8]

Whether or not you need to spoof your MAC address is dependant on your ISP's requirements. I am on Cox Road Runner and they do nothing with the NIC's MAC address unless they are trouble shooting a problem with my connection. I do have my router configured to spoof my main system's MAC address but this doesn't really matter since they cannot ping me due to my filter configuration. As far as your ISP needing the serial number off your router, I have never heard of this. If you change modems they definitely need the new serial number off that or you will be locked out when they renew your IP address (that is if your service is dynamic). If you configure your router to spoof your MAC address which is, in effect, making your router look like your NIC to your provider.