Setting up the BR10 is pretty much plug-and-go. The printed Quick Installation poster tells you everything you need to know and the most difficult part of the process will be adding the TCP/IP protocol to your computer's network configuration if it's not already installed. Although the CD that comes with the bridge has an installer program that can help networking novices through the setup process,
it's possible to just connect up the adapters and have a working network without installing or using the program.
But this is not recommended for security reasons!
![]()
NOTE! It's possible for HomePlug signals to travel relatively long distances and be picked up by adjacent homes or apartments. This means that your next-door neighbor could connect to your HomePlug LAN if they had a HomePlug compatible network adapter. The good news is that HomePlug products protect all data with 56 bit DES encryption. The bad news is that the encryption doesn't do you any good if you don't change the default password or network ID that the products come set to.
All you need to do to keep your data safe is to pick a strong password and enter it as the Network Password on each of your HomePlug adapters
. Check this article, or this one for more on strong passwords and how to generate them.
If you're running the right version of Windows, you can run the installer, which will install the Security Configuration Utility (see screen shots below), and check to see if it can see a connected bridge.
![]()
NOTE! The installer places a shortcut icon for the Security Configuration Utility on your desktop, but does not place a folder or icon in the Start Menu! Do don't delete the icon from your desktop unless you want to go hunting for the application in your Program Files folder!
The utility is pretty simple, allowing you to enter a case-sensitive 4 to 24 character "Network Password", and see the MAC addresses of the other HomePlug devices that have the same password. The MAC address of each box is printed on a label on the bottom of the box, along with a sixteen character "password" code, that isn't mentioned anywhere in the Linksys documentation and that doesn't appear to be used.
I installed the bridge using both WinXP Home and Win98SE systems, and didn't see any problems with either install. Once I entered the Network Passwords, I was up and running and ready to see what a HomePlug network had in the performance department!
