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How to Secure Your Wireless Network

39 Responses (Add) | Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 11:11pm

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One community member wrote: “After years of mistrust about wireless networks and creative use of Ethernet cabling I have now adopted a wireless network in my home for a laptop to access anywhere in the house. I have over the past week, done a lot of research and have some tips the community might want to consider in relation to the setup and/or use of wireless networks.”

Here are actually TWO Top 5 lists for helping make your wireless network more secure!

Am I secured? If you haven’t set up security passwords yourself then it’s not likely that you will be secured. To find out, simply go to ‘My Network Places’ on your PC and scan for your wireless network. In the list that appears, there should be a picture of a padlock next to the name of your network. If there is no padlock, then you need some security.

Use WPA. Most new routers now offer WiFi Protected Access (WPA) passwords as well as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). WPA offers increased security, and if your computer and other hardware is compatible, you should always use WPA as it is far harder to hack into than previous encryption methods.

Added security. You should also always have comprehensive anti-virus software such as Norton or McAfee installed on your computer to protect you from viruses that can open your PC up to hackers. Make sure that these are always kept up to date by regularly checking for updates on the provider’s website. You should also use a firewall – many routers have one built-in but you should run one on your PC too.

Isolate your wireless signal. Wireless isolation works to make your signal invisible to anyone searching for WiFi in your area. Wireless Broadband UK is built-in to some routers but must be physically enabled by the user – so check your router’s manual for Wireless Broadband tips on how to do this.

Use an access list. If you’re still worried, you can create an access list. All computers have their own Media Access Control (MAC) address – a way of identifying each individual computer – and you can tell your router which MAC addresses it can allow access to; blocking all others. This means that anyone wanting to use your wireless signal would not only have to have your password but would have to be on the access list too.

Encrypt it! The first and most important consideration if you are thinking of running a wireless network is to make sure that you have not left the network totally unsecured, I say totally unsecured as no network is ever 100% secure and this is especially the case with wireless networks as they allow easier access for potential unsavory characters to get in. An unencrypted wireless connection can allow anyone within the range of your wireless signal to immediately connect to it and start using your Internet connection for personal and/or criminal purposes and also access any files you may have shared on the hard drives of the machines connected on the network.

There are many guides available on securing your wireless network available on the Internet and your router’s manual should also provide a guide in doing so. A lot of the terminology and setup options may at first seem very technical to you but the couple of hours of research/setup is valuable time to spend where your privacy is concerned.

Be aware what you share, Most people using a wireless network or any network for that matter usually want to share files between computers on the network. Make sure you do not share any files in these shared areas which are in any way confidential or important enough that you would not want anyone to potentially see them. For example you might want to share some mp3s on a computer to listen to on another computer in your house which is fine, however sharing say a document with your bank details etc on is a definite no no.

If totally unsecured, anyone within range of your wireless network can access any of these files without you noticing. Securing your wireless network will 99.9% of the time stop this intrusion but as mentioned no wireless network is 100% secure so just avoid sharing important files.

Be aware of public hot spots. There are many wireless hot spots in coffee shops or in general, wireless is everywhere! and where there is an abundance of something there are usually some individuals lurking about ready to exploit it. If you are thinking of or do use these wireless hot spots there are some things to remember. Turn off your shared files, even if they are only mp3s, it is still wise to make sure they cannot access your hard drive.

Make sure any sites where you enter login details are secure. This can normally be determined with ‘https’ in the URI in the address bar or the padlock symbol in the bottom right of your browser window. This is because computers sharing the same network as you can (with the right software) see exactly what you are sending or receiving over that network unless that information is encrypted. This also means that it is possible for someone to snoop in on what websites you are visiting or the email you are sending (be aware that most secure sites merely secure the login details you enter, after that everything is visible on the network) so it is advisable to be a bit conservative on what you do on the Internet in these places. It is certainly a wise idea to wait until you get home to check your bank balance online or make an online purchase.

Keep your computer up to date and behind a firewall. Making sure you have your computer’s operating system up to date, a virus program installed and a firewall initiated on your machine should be something you have implemented anyway. However with the increased security risk a wireless network can expose you to, these things are totally essential in keeping you safe and secure. It is also the case I have found that users will often keep their main desktop computer up to date but neglect a laptop that they do not use as often. These laptops are likely the candidate machine that the user will be using to access a wireless network.

Turn it off. Simple yet most effective tip. If you are a moderate user simply turn your router/wifi off when you are not using it or schedule the wireless connection to only be off at times you know you will not be using it. If it is off then your wireless network is 100% safe.

Win-Spy Monitoring Software.

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39 Comments

News

July 12th, 2008
at 3:08pm

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January 25th, 2008
at 7:54am

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Zu presents: Elijah Bailey's Digital View

July 10th, 2008
at 11:31pm

Anonymous

January 28th, 2008
at 10:57am

Tips for Girl Gamers Insert Coin: Game Over!How to Secure Your Wireless NetworkHow to Check Electricity and Energy Use Chumby Widget Hawaii To Do List Tetris Game Without a Download: Netris!

Carloz790

January 24th, 2008
at 2:32pm

i have the Linksys router and it has a easy secure setup

J4gg1T

January 24th, 2008
at 2:32pm

i use a wired connection even though i am 100ft from a wireless router (thats right, i hardwired into a wireless network) i did this because at that range it causes games to lagg up really badly. this makes me not lagg, but everyone else sees me as lagging. after they get pissed off at me because i jump around, they ban me from their server. thus, wired FTW

0023247190

January 24th, 2008
at 2:47pm

Just DISABLE the wireless network and switch to ETHERNET

Piccaruse

January 24th, 2008
at 3:15pm

Use a Nintendo Dual-screen(DS) or a Playstation Portable(PSP) and connect to that “free network” they’re gonna be amasd when it sais its not compatible xD

MrJeff

January 24th, 2008
at 3:52pm

whats the E in E-ya later??

RandomGuyNo3

January 24th, 2008
at 11:22pm

E for electronic, as in like e-mail :)

skaterasshole1234567

January 25th, 2008
at 4:10am

Airport extremes kick ass!

jonnyk5614

January 25th, 2008
at 6:10am

It is now illegal in the UK to simply log into a wireless network without permission, even one that is unprotected. So far, since the introduction of the legislation a few months ago, there have been several arrests. Most arrests were where a resident spotted someone suspicious in a car with a laptop and called the police or where the police spotted someone.

vahnx1337

January 25th, 2008
at 6:19am

People are too paranoid about security. I don’t run an Anti-Virus and I rarely scan for stuff. I do use a wireless and TKIP encryption, but I don’t really care. I figure if someone’s gonna take the time to hack into my wireless network and steal my internet, good for them.

Gb755c

January 25th, 2008
at 12:49pm

I have a wifi network I will be researching security especially when my gilfriend gets her laptop but for now All I have connected to it are my PS3 and PSP I can’t find Mac Addresses on them so filtering is out where would they be on these devices?

amrrahmy

January 25th, 2008
at 1:38pm

most wireless routers have secure settings,

Tyler Keim

January 25th, 2008
at 3:28pm

I just set up a wireless network Monday with a router I got for free when I still had dial up. I love having Wi-Fi in my home. My router was being very dumb and would not let me add security. I could not stand knowing I had an open network so I finally upgraded the firmware and I got it secured. I don’t really mind my friends and neighbors on my network but I still would not let it go unsecured. If my friends wanted on I would simply give them my WPA Key.

Connor

January 25th, 2008
at 4:58pm

Those are great tips for a wireless network.
These tips also help me when getting a new network.

Ashley

January 25th, 2008
at 5:18pm

i use wapa to sesure my wireless network!

MatsHG

January 25th, 2008
at 5:49pm

I’ve recently had a problem with my network. Actually, i’ve had several problems! Some neighbors tried to log into the network, so after setting up a different passport protection, the router didn’t start to behave properly. Well, since the 1.1.3 hack just came out, i took my time setting up the new system (again!). Well, it kind of hit me, why I hadn’t done it before since it only took like 5 min. But after all, it now works perfectly.

But the new Time Capsule from Apple would be great!

azmegladon

January 26th, 2008
at 12:57am

MAC Filter and turn off ssid/beacon

Josh Crane (AppleNerd)

January 25th, 2008
at 6:12pm

This is really important. When I drive down the road, I see at least 10 unprotected wireless networks. People really need to spend the time to properly secure their networks, even wired ones.

Robert C.

January 25th, 2008
at 6:21pm

Having Wi-Fi at my house is great. It allows me to be on my laptop anywhere I go in the house. I’m also able to put my desktop computer anywhere in the house and still be able to use the internet without running any messy cables. I’m happy that I can actually print from my laptop to the desktop pc printer all without any wires! The best part is that now I really understand how to use the security feature with my wireless router, so I am able to access important data over the network securely and without any wires running everywhere. Thanks!

Robert24

TheCellist42_Laptop

January 25th, 2008
at 6:23pm

Thanks For The Tips.

When My Network Was Set Up, The Security Was WEP. I Couldnt Stand To Find Out That It Was A Low Security Setting, So I Immediately Changed My Computers And Router To A Higher Security Setting.

Sam

Ha Hua

January 25th, 2008
at 6:25pm

New to wireless, just got my first computer! Thanks for all the tips and info.

bgeorge

January 25th, 2008
at 6:41pm

The particular router I have has an amazing feature that allows you to create multiple virtual LANs. That way i can have all my wired computers connected to one LAN with full file sharing enabled. Any computer that is connected to the wireless access point can not see let alone ping any other computers in the network. This provides extra peace of mind on top of a well secured router with WPA (64 characters) and MAC filtering.

Kamakaze

January 25th, 2008
at 6:55pm

this is useful i have a WEP connection so now i need to go to change to WPA instead

ProBo

January 25th, 2008
at 7:18pm

Its creepy checking you network only to find computer you don’t know on it. A WEP password will ensure that no random users getting on it. With access to your network, others can use your printer… I have had it happen to me, and I lost alott of ink before I knew what was happening.

Ron Rizzo

January 25th, 2008
at 7:47pm

In the latest secuity now podcast with Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson they talk about WPA and how to make sure that your WAP is secure. http://www.grc.com/securitynow.htm

Michael Rivera (mrivera1)

January 25th, 2008
at 8:51pm

I have been a victim of people stealing my wireless internet connection. KEEP your gateway secure. If you can’t secure it, take down the wireless gateway. You don’t want people stealing from you. I have since left my connection encrypted and firewall protection. That is your best bet.

XedLos

January 25th, 2008
at 9:34pm

I never really encrypt my wifi but i guess i will encrypt it now.

Anjo206

January 25th, 2008
at 9:38pm

wireless security is very imortant

Jonathan Kubiak

January 26th, 2008
at 3:23pm

When I first set up a network, I discovered my neighbors had their network key the same as their network name! They aren’t the most computer literate and gave me £5 to sort it out!

shah2006gunit

January 28th, 2008
at 3:57am

WPA RULES

bradleybradwell

January 29th, 2008
at 5:22pm

I have just given up on securing my wireless network. I have secured it then forgot the password. I have messed around with the settings, then had to reboot it. I have tried different modems, and it seems like i just keep messing them up. Oh well i guess i will just leave mine unsecure. I don’t live in a busy area so i think i will fine in terms of protection.

Bradley Bradwell

ajustwar

January 30th, 2008
at 7:57pm

I have had a wireless network for a long time. First i just used wep and mac address filtering. Then i found out that wep was weak! (can be cracked within a matter of minutes!! ) then i got smart and used wpa. It has always been important to have a secure wireless network. and nice video chris.

karimfdp187

February 4th, 2008
at 4:32am

you explain very wll u should give courses at university

Laura

February 6th, 2008
at 3:48pm

I have a wireless router (linksys) in my dorm room, however everyone on my floor and the floor below me can get on it, which in return makes the connection weak or not their.

I’ve looked all over online and ended up here. Can some tell me exactly how I can secure the router/access point so that in order for you to get onto my wireless router you need a password.

I tried a tutorial online that someone sent me to but it messed up my computer and then my router access and I had to completely uninstall my router and such.

I know it can’t be as hard as I’ve apperently made it out to be.

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