If you’re having technical, service or supply problems, or just have a question you want answering, why not write to OurExpert@BroadbandChoices.co.uk
Michael Phillips is product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk and can help with anything from contractual problems, to giving technical advice or telling you how to speed up those slow movie downloads.
Wifi Security - Our expert says...
You’re right about WEP - short for wired equivalent privacy - being easy to hack. WPA - short for WiFi Protected Access - is a lot harder to break because the passwords use more bits - up to 504bits in some cases.
It’s good that you’re using virus protection too, but there are more steps that you can take to prevent people hacking into or piggybacking your wireless network.
By isolating your wireless signal you can prevent other people detecting it when they search for connections in your area. This feature is built in to some routers but you will have to manually activate it. This isn’t difficult to do, but the process differs slightly from one router to the next so you should check your manual for details.
Next you should set up an access list. Every computer has a unique Media Access Control (MAC) number to identify it. You can create a list of the MAC numbers of each PC that is allowed access to your wireless network. That way, anyone wanting to connect will have to be on the access list as well as having the password.
Finally, you need to make sure that you choose a WEP password that is difficult to crack. Hacking tools work by returning individual characters from the password. If it is a common word it will be much easier for the hacker to guess your password from only a few returned characters.
We have developed a Wireless Key Generator that creates a unique, random WEP or WPA key every time you use it. Simply generate a new key and copy and paste it as your password. This allows you to change your password as often as you like, safe in the knowledge that you have the most difficult key to crack for the type of encryption you use.
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