Airport Express network keeps showing up as protected after soft reset
Hard reset

Press and hold the reset button with a pen, pencil, or straightened **paperclip until you see the status light (LED) start to flash amber rapidly**, which should occur after about five seconds.
Release the button and the device will reset.
Wait about a minute for the base station to finish restarting, then open AirPort Utility from Applications &gt; Utilities.
Select the base station from Other Wi-Fi Devices, then click Edit.
Select the Other Options button.
Select "Restore previous settings" and click Next until you get to the final window.
AirPort Utility will indicate that Setup is complete. Click Done.
Quit AirPort Utility.