How to Secure Your Wireless Network

Wireless technology has revolutionized home networking in the past few years. However, because of increasing signal strength, wireless signals will often extend farther than the boundaries of your home and may be picked up by other computers — sometimes as much as two or three blocks away! Because of this, it's essential that you secure your wireless network properly. The following are tips on how to do this.

The first and easiest task is turn firewalls on. This includes computers on the wireless network as well as on your router. Almost all computers with wireless capabilities will have the option to turn on and off a firewall. Make sure that each computer has its own unique user name and password.

All wireless routers, via a standard IP address, allow you access and set up the equipment. Here, you enter your network address and other important information. Be sure to change the default username and password that allows you to access this page.

And don't forget to write down your changes!

Every computer accessing a wireless router will have a MAC address. One technique to secure your network is to only allow computers with certain MAC addresses to access the network. If you only have a few computers, this shouldn't be a time consuming process.

Every router broadcasts data that includes an ID known as an SSID. This network name will appear when someone is in range of a wireless network. While this might be helpful for a public internet connection, it's not needed on your personal network. If a router doesn't broadcast it's SSID, your network is essentially invisible.

All wireless routers allow data sent over the network to be encrypted. Encryption standards are getting much better. But, they can still be broken by a determined hacker.

If possible, position your router somewhere in your home where the signal will not travel too far beyond the boundaries of your home. Try to avoid setting the router near a window that looks over a street or public place. Turn your router off completely if you are going to be out of town for more than two days.

Too many people overlook the importance of securing their wireless networks. The steps outlined above should not long to implement and will go along way towards thwarting hackers and giving you piece of mind.

 

Written by: Frank J Klein - CIO

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