Help Me Secure a Wireless Connection

[MaStAViC]

Hello, Everyone,
I hope you are doing well. My girlfriend just recently switched from a regular wired DSL connection to a wireless connection. She is using a Dell Vostro 1500 laptop, and is using the software that comes with it to connect to the Internet, which is called Dell Wireless WLAN Card Utility. Her DSL provider is SBC Yahoo!

Currently, the Dell Wireless WLAN Card Utility shows that the wireless connection is not secured (there is no security lock next to her Network Name). How do I go about securing the wireless connection so others are not able to use it without first entering a network key?

I have searched Google.com but was not able to find step-by-step instructions. I did, however, find dozens of Web sites that recommend me to secure my wireless connection - too bad they didn't tell me how to do that.

Please help as soon as possible. Thanks!
Victor Ly

[MaStAViC]

Bit more information:
My girlfriend's router is a TRENDnet one, TEW-432BRP. At their Web site, I found an article titled, "How do I enable encryption on my router?" The first step is: "Log into the Router by entering it’s IP address into a browser. The default IP address is http://192.168.1.1. At the login, enter your username (admin) and password (admin)." However, after entering that IP address into a Web browser, she receives the following message: "The connection has timed out. The server at 192.168.1.1 is taking too long to respond." I am not sure where to go from there.

Thanks,
Victor Ly

[smurfy]

Hi Victor, that would be the factory default for that router but the ISP may have taken some precautions already by changing the default IP (although I doubt it).
Open a cmd window (start > run > cmd) and type ipconfig /all and see what the gateway IP is.
If it's not 192.168.1.1, then you need to enter the IP it says. If it is 192.168.1.1, try rebooting the router.
If it is still 192.168.1.1 with login = admin/admin that's one of the first steps you need to take to secure the connection - change those defaults.