| Wireless Security Tips |
Home wireless networks offer the utmost in convenience. They can allow you to connect to the internet and share and print files
from any room in your house—even from your backyard. But the same technology can make it easy for hackers to gain access to
your network and hijack sensitive information on your computers. Taking a few precautions can help foil these attempts and
safeguard your network.
Change your router's default settings. Wireless routers, especially new models, typically come with sophisticated security features.
However, these features are disabled unless you activate them. Hackers will sometimes drive through neighborhoods looking for
wireless routers set to the usually default (unprotected) settings, so it is important to turn on security features. Consult the
documentation that came with your router for more information.
Enable encryption. Activating the encryption is the quickest way to make your network safe. Encryption is essentially a password
that lives on both the router and on your computers. With encryption, neither can share information with the other unless they have
the password. The latest encryption technology is called WPA2. If your router does not support WPA2, it might be time to consider
an upgrade.
Make your network hardware-specific. It is also possible to configure your router so that it will only recognize and share information
with specific pieces of hardware (i.e. your laptop and desktop computers). Coupled with encryption, taking this step will make your
network much more difficult for hackers to penetrate.
Invest in wireless security software. If all this sounds too complicated, don't despair. Many manufactures offer very inexpensive,
easy to use software that will take care of securing your home wireless network for you.
Taking these steps can help ensure that you can continue to enjoy the many benefits of wireless home networking-without losing
sleep over security concerns.
from any room in your house—even from your backyard. But the same technology can make it easy for hackers to gain access to
your network and hijack sensitive information on your computers. Taking a few precautions can help foil these attempts and
safeguard your network.
Change your router's default settings. Wireless routers, especially new models, typically come with sophisticated security features.
However, these features are disabled unless you activate them. Hackers will sometimes drive through neighborhoods looking for
wireless routers set to the usually default (unprotected) settings, so it is important to turn on security features. Consult the
documentation that came with your router for more information.
Enable encryption. Activating the encryption is the quickest way to make your network safe. Encryption is essentially a password
that lives on both the router and on your computers. With encryption, neither can share information with the other unless they have
the password. The latest encryption technology is called WPA2. If your router does not support WPA2, it might be time to consider
an upgrade.
Make your network hardware-specific. It is also possible to configure your router so that it will only recognize and share information
with specific pieces of hardware (i.e. your laptop and desktop computers). Coupled with encryption, taking this step will make your
network much more difficult for hackers to penetrate.
Invest in wireless security software. If all this sounds too complicated, don't despair. Many manufactures offer very inexpensive,
easy to use software that will take care of securing your home wireless network for you.
Taking these steps can help ensure that you can continue to enjoy the many benefits of wireless home networking-without losing
sleep over security concerns.
