HELP! Mac vs. Router
jessicaledw
Newbie

I just got a MacBook Pro and I cannot connect to the internet.  

We have an established network that other Mac's and PC's are able to connect to but neither my Nook nor my MacBook Pro are able to connect.  The password and network name are entered correctly but nada.  

A while ago, Norton claimed that someone had hacked our network and so my dad reset the password, network name, and made it hidden.  Now when I try to log into the router from any of our computers that sign-in page does this screwy thing with the password where it adds a bunch of characters and then if I try to erase them it deletes more than I've told it to.

 All I want to do is connect my Nook and MacBook Pro to our network.  At this point, all I care about is connecting the MBP but I'd really like to be able to connect them both.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Please help!

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Re: HELP! Mac vs. Router
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

Yeah ... turning off SSID broadcasts is an issue for Mac's and some other types of devices.   Turning off SSID broadcast on the router really does nothing from a security perspective -- sure it hides it so that your local neighbor/teenager doesn't see the network name when they go looking for networks to connect to -- but any network tool for finding wireless networks will find your SSID pretty quickly making that "security feature" pretty useless.  The same thing applies to MAC address filtering as it's very easy to sniff out a valid MAC and spoof it.   The use of WPA/WPA2 and strong password are really what you want to focus your efforts on.

Turn SSID broadcast back on.  Then everything will work just fine. 

Re: HELP! Mac vs. Router
viafax999
Community Leader
Community Leader

@jessicaledw wrote:

A while ago, Norton claimed that someone had hacked our network and so my dad reset the password, network name, and made it hidden.  Now when I try to log into the router from any of our computers that sign-in page does this screwy thing with the password where it adds a bunch of characters and then if I try to erase them it deletes more than I've told it to.


The extra characters are just a somewhat mild deterrent to disguise to an onlooker how many characters are in your password.  Just enter what you think the password is and ignore what appears in the display field.  If you still cannot logon then reset the router to defaults by pushing in the reset button.  The userid will be then back to admin and the password will be password.

Then go in and set your wireless setup and password however you want it to be.  You will then have to reconnect all the already connected machines using the new wireless setup and password.

Re: HELP! Mac vs. Router
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

No need to do all that ... leave the SSID and password and stuff alone ... just have him go into router and turn the "broadcast" option back on (i.e. not hidden).   I own an MBP, the hidden SSID thing is a common issue.

If he's insisting that the hidden SSID is necessary, tell him to search the string:  "hidden SSID security myth" on his favorite search engine and enjoy the numerous articles written about this topic and exactly "why" it's a useless defense measure that only makes the user's life more difficult, not a hacker or someone looking to break into your network.

Re: HELP! Mac vs. Router
viafax999
Community Leader
Community Leader

Maybe, I read it as she was trying to log in to the router as admin but possibly you are correct and she is just trying to connect to the router from a machine,

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Re: HELP! Mac vs. Router
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

Yeah ... pretty sure it's the latter.  I have a MBP that I use as my primary work laptop.   A hidden SSID will give you all kinds of fits and starts getting connected (you can connect manually, but it'll try to jump to any other non-hidden SSID in the area if it sees one and refuse to automatically connect to the hidden one he next time you are in range).  

Turn the SSID broadcast back on ... and the problems vanish.

That's why I posted the links about the hidden-SSID myth being a security control -- there really is no harm in leaving the broadcast on for a properly protected ( preferably WPA2/complex password) network.

OP .. would be great if you could let us know if we nailed your problem or missed the mark.