 č[pick-up from newsletter] | Congratulations! You've just set up your very own home wireless network! Or... is it REALLY your own? Vast numbers of home networks are totally unprotected, open to invaders – ranging from the neighborly to the nefarious. While most intruders' intentions are "only" to use your bandwidth, you could unwittingly be sharing a whole lot more that just that. If you install that WiFi router out of the box and do not change any of the default settings, you're practically asking anyone in the area to come in and snoop around.
There are quite a few security measures you can take relatively easily. First off, change the defaults. Most routers, out of the box, come with administrative accounts called “admin” and usually do not require a password, or if they do, it’s an easy one – like “password”. Change it to something more secure (see another one of my articles for tips on creating secure passwords). If you don’t change the default settings, anyone who gains access to your network can change the settings and even conceivably lock YOU out! (Your only remedy at that point would be to do a “hard reset” and restore the unit to factory default settings). Secondly, if your router has the option to exclude unknown “MACs” turn it (it's called MAC Filtering) on and only allow your own computers to connect. Every network card, wired or wireless has a MAC address, a unique numerical "name" for that card. This setting will only allow MACs that the routers knows about to connect. Not foolproof, but it goes a long way.
By the way, if you're curious, MAC stands for Media Access Control. Your router will also offer encryption settings like WEP, WPA and WPA2. WPA2 is far better than WEP and WPA, which are becoming outdated and easier to crack. Turn encryption on – it’s a pain to set up in the beginning but it will fortify your wireless fortress tremendously. Not to mention that all broadcasts between computer and router will be encrypted. Ever thought about who might be snooping while you do your banking from the bedroom? Last tip: if your router has the option, tell it to turn off the SSID Broadcast. The SSID is the name you give your home network, like JOES-WIRELESS. If you can avoid broadcasting it, no one will even “see” your network unless they know the name. All the above tips offer varying degrees of safeguards against snoopers, both accidental and willful ones. Keep in mind that no wireless network is 100% private. It’s up to you to decide what you want to use the wireless network for. A determined hacker can always get in. You know your surroundings best, but I always advise against using wireless networks for banking and other financial sites. Keep it at your desk. Securely wired. Keep the wireless for general surfing, watching movies or even email. Anything that if you had an unknown intruder watching over your virtual shoulder, you wouldn’t mind sharing... |
