LELA

Linksys Easy Link Advisor

Linksys Easy Link Advisor (LELA) is an application distributed by Linksys that provides an easy way to setup, manage, view, add and repair the network. Its like having a Linksys geek in your home helping you to get the most out of your home network. LELA comes with all the new routers from Linksys. Linksys EasyLink Advisor automatically sets up your home network. LELA can locate every computer, router, storage unit, camera, print server and other device connected to your network. If you already have a wireles router / modem, LELA can help you to optimise the performance of the network by simplyfing the addition of devices and providing an overview of all the devices those are installed. LELA works in the background, watching your network. It will alert you of new devices, poblems, security vulnerabilities and the updates. LELA 3.0 can be used with any routers that have firmware consist of HNAP.




Look at the following pics and you'll see how easy it is to install and use LELA.


You can select any device from the list as shown in the picture and view its details like the IP Address or MAC Address and even configure the wireless settings like Changing the SSID and Enabling/Disabling the wireless encryption. You can also change the router's password here. Now you nomore need to open the setup page to change the router's password or to configre the wireless settings. It also displays the number of computers and other network devices and their names along with an appropriate icon. You can refresh the page anytime. The refresh button is on the top right hand side. You can kick out any device at any time.

Follow the Welcome Screen to add a computer or any networking device to the network. If you exit the welcome screen, you can add/remove the computers or devices anytime from the LELA application. To connect any device wireless to the network, you need to know the name of the network (SSID) and the encryption (wireless security). You can view the name of the network from the wireless devices and connect. You can change the wireless encryption anytime, but changing the wireless security setting on the router will affect all the wireless devices connected to the router / modem. You'll need to configure the wireless settings on all the computers/devices connected to the router.

While LELA was originally designed for Linksys' N routers, it will still work with most of Linksys' G routers. Linksys recommends that you install Windows XP or Vista (x64 and x86) Operating System on your computer. A minimum of 512 MB RAM is required (1 GB is recommended). The network map shows your network devices, the name of your wireless network (SSID), network status, menu options, alerts (if any), and updates (if any). You can manually check for the updates (From network map/list, click on the Updates button, and then select Check for Updates). It also shows you if any unauthorised device is trying to access your network as shown in the picture. You can stop the Internet access to that device anytime. You can even Print the Network Settings. To change the language, On the network map/list, click on File > Preferences > Language. At the initial launch of LELA 3.0, only the WRT160N and the WRT310N firmware will contain HNAP.

How to find the IP Address.

Every computer or device in the network has an IP address, which uniquely defines that device and enables other devices to find each other on the Internet or the network. The IP address format is a string of four numbers, each from 0 to 255, separated by periods, for example, 192.168.1.77

The ipconfig commands displays the information regarding the IP Address, Subnet mash and the Gateway (Router).

How to find the IP Address of the computer running Windows XP ?

Step 1 : Click on Start and click Run.

Step 2 : Type cmd and click OK.

Step 3 : You get the Command Prompt. Wherever the cursor is flashing type ipconfig and hit enter/return.

Step 4 : You get the IP Address as shown in the above figure.

Step 5 : If you dont get the IP Address as shown in the figure above, check this page for errors and solutions of the ipconfig command.

Wireless Security

Important tips to secure the Wireless Network on the Linksys Router.

Change the default password of the Router / Access Point :

In the setup page click on Administration tab and change the password there, click Save Settings.

Enable Wireless Encryption :

In the Setup page, click Wireless and than click Wireless Security (subtab).

Setup Mac Address Filtering :

Every wireless device has a unique mac address or a physical address. The routers maintains a table that keep track of the mac addresses of all the devices connecting to them. To setup the mac address filtering, on the setup page, click Wireless tab, click Wireless Access (sub tab). By enabling this feature, you can permit / prevent only certain computers' access to the router.

Assign Static IP Addresses to the computers :

By assigning static IP Address to the computer, you wont have to rely on the router's DHCP server. Also you can change the Local IP Address on the router. Remember the IP Addresses that is being assigned to the computers is in the network range of the Local IP Address of the router. After doing this, disable the DHCP on the router. All these settings can be done from the Setup page of the router.

Disable the SSID Broadcast :

If you disable the SSID broadcast the name of the network will no longer be displayed (broadcasted). A wireless profile needs to be created on the computer. Also try not connecting to any free hotspots, as it exposes the computer to security risks. Change the security encryption at regular intervals (eg. after every 2 months)