Are you the internet provider for your neighbors?

Ever get the feeling your internet is being used by unauthorized users?  Many people rely on wireless routers to make connections to the internet.  While this is a handy technology that can un-tether your laptop from a network cable, it also has a downside.  Without securing your wireless connection, other people can spy on your internet traffic, access your computers, and abuse your internet connection.  Wireless signals can travel hundreds of feet, so anyone next door or driving by can pick up your signal.

Luckily, most wireless routers have built in security mechanisms that can be enabled to provide protection.  Most pertinent is WPA – or WiFi Protected Access.  By enabling WPA on your router, only authorized users with a given password will be able to access your network.  All data sent across the network is “scrambled” when using WPA, making it difficult for others to view your internet traffic.

Please review the information below on how to improve the security of your wireless router.

Remember, a byte of prevention is worth a grand of cure.

As you review the following information, please note that there are many types of wireless routers and accessing the router and modifying the security settings is different for each one.  The following discussions give an overview of the options that should be selected.  For details on the router you are using, please consult your IT staff or documentation on the router.  If you find that these are not sufficient, please feel free to contact us and we can assist.

Please note that each of the steps adds a layer of security to your wireless but also requires a little more work on the users’ side in order to get connected.  The best security for your wireless connection may not include all of the steps mentioned below.  At the very least, however, step1 should be in place.

Step 1 - The most basic and easiest method of securing your wireless is to set authentication requirements on your wireless router.  There are several types of authentication mechanisms.  As mentioned above, the easiest is WPA.  This allows you to set a passphrase that someone attempting to use the wireless must input before being able to connect.

Step 2 - The next step in securing your wireless is to turn off broadcasting of the SSID.  If you are broadcasting the SSID of your wireless, anyone with a wireless card will be able to see the wireless network.  However, if you turn off broadcasting, the user has to know the name of the network in order to be able to connect to it.

Step 3 – The final step in securing your wireless is to turn on MAC filtering.  The MAC address of a computer is its physical address.  Every machine connecting to the internet has a unique MAC address.  Within the wireless router, you can create a list of MAC addresses that will be allowed to connect to the wireless.  In doing this, you will deny anyone not on that list automatically and thus provide the utmost security for your wireless.