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Wireless broadband security essentials
When it comes to wireless networking, the main disadvantage is security, but this doesn’t have to be an issue. A surprising number of households and companies simply forget to set up security measures to keep their connection safe. If you’re one of these Wi-fi users, a stranger could hack into your connection just by standing outside your house.
See our article How do I protect my wireless network? for simple ways to stop this happening.
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What if I don't protect my wireless network?
If your wireless network is left unprotected, any other Wi-fi user can use your connection just by parking up outside your house. This won’t cost you any money but can slow down your connection speed and, if this person’s motives are more sinister, you’ll find that your connection is wide open to hacking – other users can find out your personal information, bank details and can even see what web pages you’re visiting.
Although security issues are often cited as a major disadvantage of wireless networking, these problems can be easily avoided. Read more on Securing a wireless network.
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), if used, encrypts data before transmission. This provides greater security and privacy. All Wireless Stations need to use the same settings (WEP Key size and WEP key). WEP Security Encryption A 64 or 128 bit WEP security connection will prevent other Wi-fi users from getting in. This is called a WEP Key and looks like this: 9FDF3BFDFB10AFEB0925EF9605.
Access control
Some routers have ‘access control’ which is an ‘allow list’ using the unique physical/mac address of a computer, which is a series of six pairs of numbers and letters. To find your computer’s physical address, click on Start>Run and type cmd, followed by ipconfig/all in the black box. You can give your computer a list of the physical addresses of every computer you’ll allow onto your network, and other computers will be locked out.
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