WEP key recovery

Where can I find the WEP key on my router?

If you have a wireless router at home you will need to have a WEP key setup on your router. WEP stands for "Wired Equivalent Privacy" and WEP is a security protocol used to secure wireless networks. When you setup a router for wireless, you normally specify a key(password) so anyone that wishes to join your network has to enter the key. You normally set the WEP key during the router setup phase. You may have set it up and forgot it, or want to reset it. In this article I will go over the steps to find out the WEP key or change it. Your router may use a different security protocol than WEP so don't worry, you still need a KEY in order to access the network.

-On most routers(reference your user manual) you can access the router configuration page by going to the gateway address. The gateway address is the IP address assigned to your router. In a lot of the cases, this address is 192.168.1.1 but depends on your router.
There are a couple of ways to find out this IP address.
-Reference your router manual
-In Microsoft Windows, go to Start > Run and in the run box type "cmd" or "command". A black DOS windows should open. In this window, type "ipconfig /all". Look near the top and you should see a "gateway address" item. This number is the ip address of your router.

Once you know your gateway address, open up your internet browser as if you were going to go to a website. In the URL(address) bar, type the gateway address and hit enter(see image below). A log in box should now show. Again, reference your router manual if you do not know the administrative password. Enter in your password and username.




Once you log in you now have access to the router settings and you can configure what you please. What we are looking for in this article is the wireless security settings. In the wireless security settings page you should be able to see the password for your wireless network and change it. If you see no password go ahead and set one up.
**You can also look around and modify other settings. You can change the wireless security, give your wireless network a name(SSID field) and even with some routers have built in testing features to test the connection at home.
I would recommend that if your router has a default password for admin/configuration access, that you go ahead and create a new one. The default router passwords are usually very simple and this information can be easily found on the internet by anyone. People who set up home networks tend to leave this as is and it is a security risk.


TIPS
-If you can't connect to the router and you know the gateway address, try plugging the computer into the router directly using a Ethernet cable(LAN/patch cable). If you are still having trouble, you can perform a power cycle. Turn off your modem, router and computer. After 10 seconds turn on your modem, after 30 seconds turn on your router and after another 30 seconds turn on your computer. Try to access the router now. This also helps resolve other quirky router issues.
-Make sure all the network cables, phone lines(if using DSL) and coaxial cables(cable/Broadband) are plugged in and secured firmly.

-If you set up a password and username for your routers administrative access and can't remember it, you can reset the username and password back to factory default by performing a factory reset. On most routers this can be achieved by pressing and holding the small reset button on the back of the router for 15 seconds. Please reference router user manual for more information.

I hope this article was informative. Thanks for reading.

Regards,
G33k


Keywords
Where can I find the WEP key on my router?, How to reset router WEP key, lost router security key, where can I find router password, how to reset router password, where to find router security key, how to configure router security, how to configure router password, how to configure router WEP key, lost WEP key, reset WEP key, can't find my pass key, lost router pass key, lost router wireless pass key, how to reset router passkey, how to obtain router passkey