I have a very nice Netgear Wireless-B+G+N gateway router for our DSL connection. And I have a very nice Belkin Wireless-N adapter for one of our computers here. Since both gadgets are relatively new technology, I figured that connecting the Belkin to the Netgear would be a piece of cake.

WRONG.

I admit– this Belkin adapter is the EASIEST adapter I have ever installed. It was a breeze and it works right out of the box. But I have hefty wireless security for our home network: I have a long string of hexadecimal characters, MAC address filters, and etc. I won’t budge when it comes to security. I have ditched some of our old equipment because it won’t work with the modern encryption.

So this new Belkin has a funky MAC address that my Netgear router refused to accept. All the other MAC addresses I’ve seen begin with “00,” but this Belkin adapter began with “94.” The Netgear wouldn’t accept the MAC address.

First time I’ve seen that. After checking for a firmware upgrade from Netgear for the router (there was no upgrade), I was on my own to make this adapter work, or return it to the store.

I figured out a hack. And it may help you should you have to do this. This is for my Netgear DGN2000, which allows me to save a config file as a backup. Basically, all I did was backup my config file, open it in Notepad (well, I use Notepad Pro+, a much better program), add the Belkin adapter’s MAC address to the config file, save it, and upload it to my Netgear router. Voila!

Long version of what I just said:

Most routers *should* give you an option to save your configuration settings. Save TWO of these, just in case you make a mistake and wipe out all your settings– you’ll have an untouched saved config file to upload, just in case. I saved one in my Documents folder for safe keeping, and another on my Desktop with which I altered. I had no problems, but it was nice to know that I had a pure backup for caution’s sake.

OK, so… your router will save the file as a “config” file. Right-click it and open it in a text-editing program (like Notepad or whatever). Scroll down, looking for  “MAC+name” and “Trusted Wireless Stations.” That’s what Netgear calls it; I assume other routers call it something similar. It was easy for me to find it because I already have a bunch of connections for other computers in the Trusted Wireless Stations group.

Type in the code using EXACTLY the same format as you see for the other MAC addresses (assuming there are others, as I have), but insert your new adapter’s MAC and network name. For example:

[40102]“Trusted Wireless Stations”=00:55:44:33:88:8FHP-PAV

You see that I name all my network connections after the computers we have here. You could name yours George or Moe or Belkin2020 or whatever. The name is just a way for you to identify which wireless connection is where. But the MAC address you MUST have accurate, or your router will not accept it as a viable member of your wireless network.

After you have added in your adapter’s MAC address, save the file as it is– do NOT rename it as something else. Close it. Go back to your router and look for where you can upload a file for settings (usually “restore backup” or “restore settings” or something. Upload the config file. My Netgear gave a confirmation window, asking me if I was SURE I wanted to do this, because doing so would wipe out all my current settings. I said yes. The router automatically reboots. Go to your wireless settings, and allowed MAC addresses, and you will see your new adapter MAC address and new name there.

Your wireless adapter with computer is now part of your wireless network, and all is secure.

Tags: adapter, ethical hacker, Invalid MAC address, NetGear, router, wireless