Home wireless network upgraded to WPA encryption

Thanks to Nick Selby's recent Network World Chat, I was scared into upgrading my wireless encryption from 128-bit WEP to WPA2 128-bit AES protection.

The upgrade had a few hitches: First my Linksys G router firmware needed to upgraded to use WPA2 support. The unit has been working so well for so long, I never updated it. Once that was done, fixing my Linksys wireless bridge was only challenging because I had the wrong IP address for it and then entered the wrong key info. Next, I thought my wireless Tivo was going to be an issue, but that configured easily. If you're adding WPA and have a Tivo connected via wireless, you'll need the Tivo Wireless G adapter. Other supported adapters don't work with WPA.

One last sticking point came when I tried to re-configure my wife's laptop for the new security settings. Turns out her Linksys wireless G card was out of date as well (another one of those it-works-why-replace-it things) and I couldn't find the right software update to make it happen. A quick trip Staples and $45 bucks later, her machine was up and running in the new secure environment.

Now I'd like to see those deer roaming the neighborhood try to hack my signal.

• Wireless / Mobile