Netgear/dlink security problems

[olddaddy]

I'm new here, so first off, thanks well in advance for any assistance you can offer me. I spent the better part of the day trying to set up my PC and laptop onto a wireless network at home using a Netgear WPN 311 pci adapter in my PC and a Dlink 1310 router connected to my Brighthouse modem. Both my PC and laptop are Dell, and the laptop is wifi ready. I spent an hour on the phone with Netgear tech support only to have them tell me my pci adapter is working correctly, and my Dlink router was the problem and they could not assist me further. OK, so my Dlink 1310 was a gift from my in-laws, and hand me down with no instructions etc. I do not have the WEP passphrase info, and attempts to reset, relearn, go around, do something have all failed. I've tried logging onto the ISP of the router, but the page does not load. My Netgear WPN 311 indicates it will operate with security settings disabled, but I cannot make it work with the Dlink. Do I give up and buy a Netgear router? Do I accept I am an idiot and give up wireless connection? What next? Again, thanks to anyone who can point me towards a solution.

[Lemog]

What is the specific model? I suggest WPA instead of WEP, unless your team does not. I do not advise turning off SSID broadcasts as the network just makes it harder for you to utilize. If you have WPA encryption through a strong random key, which are very well protected. WEP is the protection of anemia and manipulated within minutes by someone through tools commonly available on top of the Internet. However, if that is all the security you need, I will not try to convince him otherwise. If the router has a password that you do not know, the solution is to do a factory reset and reconfigure. You can then set any password you want.