Excluding PC's on Home Network

[RonJohn]

For reasons I won't go into, I need to know if there is some way to exclude a certain PC in my home from my wireless network without affecting the others. My router is a Cisco WRT160N. Can someone help?

[jdc2000]

Provided the user(s) of that PC are not too technically sophisticated, you could block the MAC address of the PC in the router.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...&aqi=&aql=&oq=

[SpywareDr]

You may also be able to set it up to only allow specific MAC Addresses.

Many routers, (such as Cisco and Linksys), give you the ability to enable Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering. The MAC address is a unique series of numbers and letters assigned to every networking device. With MAC address filtering enabled, wireless network access is provided solely for wireless devices with specific MAC addresses.

[SuperSparks]

Also, you can change the WiFi passphrase in the router, and enter it in all the other machines except that one. If you use a strong passphrase, nobody will ever get around that.

[RonJohn]

Well now I have hosed it totally!. I logged on to my router and clicked on Wireless/Wireless MAC Filter, checked enabled and clicked on Wireless Client list.
The only PC listed there was one of my backups I had turned on so I thought I would test out trying to exclude it. I added it to my client list, clicked on Prevent and saved changes. When I tried to log onto the internet on the back up PC, it was a failure so I thought I had done the right procedure. I went back to the original PC and tried to undo everything I had done and now NONE of my PC's except the original one can log on to the internet. Not even the ones I had not selected. I have unplugged the router and tried to reset it but I am not getting any results. What in the world have I done? Instead of excluding the one PC I had intended, I have now shut down my home network and cannot figure how to get it up again. I desperately need help please.

[Shinma]

... I have unplugged the router and tried to reset it but I am not getting any results...

If router was hard reset, all settings were deleted.
Router requires complete setup/configuration.

Connect a system directly to the router with ethernet cable.
Start set up from the beginning.

[RonJohn]

By resetting, I mean I unplugged the ethernet cable from the modem and unplugged the power supply. My laptop see the network. It just won't connect to it anymore. I look at the settings on the router website(?) and it has my IP address and everything else correct. By starting all over, do you mean finding the original disc that came with the router and start from scratch? Is that the only way to fix this?

[RonJohn]

Well, my network is back. Not sure why. I did make some changes in the way my laptop tried to connect but I seriously doubt that those changes made the difference. I wish I could explain how it happened but I am glad I didn't have to start from scratch. Just out of curiosity though, were my original steps to try and delete access for a certain PC the correct ones or was I barking up the wrong tree?

[SuperSparks]

I can only show you what my Netgear is like, but on mine you only add the trusted MAC addresses. Anything else not on the list will be denied access.