There was a time when computers weren’t something ordinary people could afford. Back then, only the rich could buy them and the only networks in the world were those run by governments or large companies. Today, the picture is most certainly different. An average family’s home can have a network of computers owned by each family member and their Internet connections are fast and topnotch. Some families even use wireless computers and though cost is no longer an issue, information security definitely is.
What makes wireless networks sensitive sometimes is the fact that signals can go everywhere and are very hard to detect. This makes hackers very happy then, because now, they can hack any wirelessly connected computer and very easily at that. There’s no need to install Trojans or keyloggers. They just have to connect to that wireless network with their own laptop and start stealing information from those that are already connected. This is why wireless security should never be taken for granted. Imagine having a close neighbor connecting to your network without your permission. The risks are always there but it doesn’t mean wireless networking is bad altogether.
In fact, only unsecured wireless networks can be a headache which means as long as you secure yours, you shouldn’t have any problem. If you’re not exactly technically savvy, you might think it’s some complicated task that needs an expert to do. On the contrary, you can do it on your own and quite simply.
First off, because networks run on ID’s, you need to secure your own network’s ID so unauthorized access is prevented. Laptops will come with a default SSID (Service Set Identifier) or ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier). If you don’t customize it, you can expect hackers to come prying in because it’s actually very easy for them to research on the default identifiers for each wireless computer manufacturer. This is why it’s extremely important that you change you SSID or ESSID into something unique to you.
Then you need to disable Identifier Broadcasting so you don’t get to announce to the whole world that you’ve got this wireless network that just about anyone out there could hack into. A manual that comes with your device will have instructions for this.
The third step in securing your wireless network is to enable Encryption so only authorized people able to access your information. There are actually two types of encryption you can use – WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). For maximum security, it’s better to go for WPA which provides stronger protection than WEP which has many flaws and is quite easy to crack.
Firewalls are, of course, basic to every Internet security campaign, whether wired or wireless, so check your manual and set up your firewall to block unwanted traffic. Anti-virus software as well as anti-spyware and anti-adware should also be installed and updated regularly to ensure maximum protection.
As a final step, change your default password into some unique to you. Refrain from using birth dates and anniversaries which are pretty easy to crack. The most secure password could be a random combination of letters, characters and numbers.
As a general online security measure, an IP hiding software just might be very helpful. Because it allows you to surf with fake a IP address, you don’t leave a trail for hackers to follow back to you. This way, you keep these unwanted elements at bay and you simply enjoy the added freedom to your Internet activities.
By: Brad M Smith
Posts Tagged ‘Wireless Security’
How to Setup a Home Network – Choosing Your Network Equipment
February 4th, 2010
If you want to build a personal network, planning ahead can save both money and time especially if you ever know you will grow your local area network in the distant future.
The whole point of coming up with a plan is to realize what you actually need to put in your network, after all there are many more things available than just having computers that connect to the internet.
This includes WiFi, cables, or even both
Although you might be only using wired connections, will you be able to use WiFi in the future?
Almost everyone at some point, and the difference in prices between a wired router and wireless router is small, and just about every wireless router still have a wired ethernet hub built into them meaning we can still connect both wired and wireless devices.
The whole point most people want a home network setup is to share an internet connection, in this case it’s imperative the security and the router has the latest firmware, this includes Wireless Security, Router Security & each computer must have a firewall, anti-spyware and a firewall.
Long gone are the days of having to share your hard drive or have a special computer, network attached hard drives are easy to setup and they typically have space from 500gb to 2tb. Some even have a wireless option.
The speed of a network can be a major factor if you send big files, truth be told a cabled network will always be faster than wireless, as a rule of thumb use cabled where possible and wifi where you have to, i.e laptops.
One of the big mistakes made when many of us are setting up a home network in the house is thinking about future expansions to the network, spending a little less today will only mean you spend more down the road, work within your budget but be realistic, setup the network that suits your needs and and budget.
By: Alex D Smith
Wireless Network Security – The Basics of Securing a Wireless LAN
December 10th, 2009
Network Authentication Process
The process of a client associating and authenticating to an access point is standard. Should shared key authentication be selected at the client, there are additional packets sent confirming the keys authenticity.
The following describes
