Joe's Security

Some will want to accommodate setting up an Xbox, Wii or such for Internet gaming. The Applications and Gaming -> Port Range Forward is just the ticket. You will have to allow the Internet to access your Xbox or such on certain "ports." This is a little more advanced to set up, you'll need to consult your gaming platform's documentation to make sure you get it right, but this is how you'd set up your Linksys to allow Xbox to/from the Internet.

Xbox port forwarding in the Linksys WRT54G:

Next, go ahead to "Administration" -> Management and change your password. Like I said before, everyone knows the default passwords to these things so change it here. Also recommended is selecting "HTTPS" and de-selecting "HTTP" as is more secure - but remember to point your browser now to https://192.168.1.1 to login to your Linksys.

And unless you're not going to have ANY wired access to your router/firewall, disable wireless and remote management access to your device. This only affects how the Linksys can be accessed - only from a computer wired to a LAN port.

You should check for new firmware every so often, as bugs and vulnerabilities get fixed by the vendor. If you download new firmware from the vendor website (make sure you have the correct version), use this window thru which to upload it to your Linksys. Even though your settings should be kept through the upgrade process, it's not a bad idea to backup your settings under the "Config Management" tab - just in case something goes wrong.

The status page should show you the settings your ISP gave you. And if your Linksys didn't automatically get an address from your ISP, click on the "DHCP Release" then "DHCP Renew" buttons. You'll see the settings your ISP gives you get updated here.

And there you have it, DONE! That is, unless you want to set up your wireless, too. That's addressed in another article: How to  Set Up Your Wireless Securely.