My wireless connection at home isn't secure. I share it with a neighbor when they are in town. My other nearby neighbors don't use wireless, but that may change. If I see a car parked in my front yard with a guy hunched over I'll know whats going on. Security of your data should be important to us. What can happen if someone gets on your network? They can see all your files. That means steal the files, change the file and ultimates crash your computer if they wish. Even if you don't care about your files, you should care about your PC. (PCSS visits are welcome but can be costly!)
Securing your wireless network isn't the easiest thing to do. There are two parts of the security. #1 is to secure your wireless router. If you haven't changed its default password a hacker can easily get to the router and change ALL your settings including security. Even sneakier is for them to just pick up your security settings, thus opening up your supposedly secure network without you knowing. To secure the router you have to go to the routers built in management console. This differs per router, but you should have gotten documentation from the router manufacturer on how to do this (you can generally get that info from the manufacturers web page). Then you need to go to the security or setup section of the console and set a password. Make it a strong password with numbers,letters and symbols. Write it down so you won't forget it! After setting the password the router will reboot and you'll have to enter the new password to get into the console.
While you are in the router you should go to the Wireless security section and make sure security is turned on. The best security choice is WPA. Any security is better then none, but WPA is stronger and less likely to be hacked then the old WEP standard. I've seen WEP hacked in under 10 minutes with the right equipment. When you set up the security you'll be asked to give a passcode or you will be given a security number. Write these down, because your wireless devices will now need the code to get on your network. You'll also have to give the code/number to anyone you want to use your wireless network.
If you have questions or need help, we are here to oblige!
Showing posts with label Wireless security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wireless security. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, May 24, 2007
#69 - Stealing is Stealing is?????
A Michigan man was arrested in Michigan for "stealing" free wireless Internet. The man would park every day outside of the Re-Union Street Cafe in Sparta, Michigan and use the wireless Internet to get his email. He admitted to the activity and was fined $400 and given 40 hours of community service. The maximum sentence could have been 5 years in jail and up to $10,000 in fines. Now that's scary!
I saw an interview with the police chief and he said he had to look up the law and found a 1979 Ethernet network protection act that was recently updated. He said the fined man had no idea it was illegal and had a clean record. The cafe has an unsecured wireless set up that they would like for customers (coffee buyers) to use. There are literally thousands of similar set ups in the country. I was telling a customer recently that you can find over 50 similar set ups in Covington alone. You could park literally anywhere in the city and find unsecured Internet.
One of my neighbors asked to used my home wireless set up. He purchased a couple of big antennas and I set up my system to put out a stronger signal for him. The local library has 3 power full wireless access points that lets everyone withing 100 feet of the library to use their signal. And I have been known to surf for unsecured access on occasion, especially when traveling.
So is this a bad thing to do? What are the risks? There are some risks. If you don't have your files secured, someone borrowing your wireless can access those files. It is an easy process to secure your wireless network. By securing the network, anyone wanting to use it would have to know your hexadecimal password. Different security schemes (WEP, WPA) are available to protect your wireless information. The way I look at it, is that if you don't have your wireless secured, then you are inviting the world in. If you have any question about that, just drop me a line and I can tell you how to secure your wireless network!
I saw an interview with the police chief and he said he had to look up the law and found a 1979 Ethernet network protection act that was recently updated. He said the fined man had no idea it was illegal and had a clean record. The cafe has an unsecured wireless set up that they would like for customers (coffee buyers) to use. There are literally thousands of similar set ups in the country. I was telling a customer recently that you can find over 50 similar set ups in Covington alone. You could park literally anywhere in the city and find unsecured Internet.
One of my neighbors asked to used my home wireless set up. He purchased a couple of big antennas and I set up my system to put out a stronger signal for him. The local library has 3 power full wireless access points that lets everyone withing 100 feet of the library to use their signal. And I have been known to surf for unsecured access on occasion, especially when traveling.
So is this a bad thing to do? What are the risks? There are some risks. If you don't have your files secured, someone borrowing your wireless can access those files. It is an easy process to secure your wireless network. By securing the network, anyone wanting to use it would have to know your hexadecimal password. Different security schemes (WEP, WPA) are available to protect your wireless information. The way I look at it, is that if you don't have your wireless secured, then you are inviting the world in. If you have any question about that, just drop me a line and I can tell you how to secure your wireless network!
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