Drive up and down any neighborhood with a Laptop and wireless network card and itâs likely that very good there is an unprotected wireless network waiting for one to connect. Imagine the hacker or your neighbor who has been making use of your connection and perhaps capturing all data being transmitted on the Network. Your Email, Bank and CHARGE CARD username and passwords vulnerable and out in the wild for anyone to steal.
If this appears like your home wireless network, it’s time you put security in place and lock out unwanted guest. Beyond the oblivious security measures, changing and disabling SSID broadcast, turning off your wireless router when not is use, these 5 tips will secure a house wireless network in layers, and give the boot to even the most seasoned professional.
Tip #1 – Do not use DHCP – Using DHCP is very convenient, especially for intruders. DHCP automatically hands out IP addresses to any who successfully connects to your Network. When disabled, every computer or device should be manually assigned an Ip. All computers, printers and devices on your network should be manually configured with static IP addresses. The threat of just handing out access is eliminated and you also gain more control over who can connect to the network.
Also consider changing the router local Ip to something other than 192.168.1.1 that a lot of wireless routers are configured by default. Use an address of 10.0.0.x for the router and for assigning IP addresses to devices on your network. Changes to the defaults set by the router manufacture can help keep intruders guessing and keep them off the network.
Tip #2 – Change The Router Default Password – While this may seems like the most logical task when establishing a wireless router, many people ignore changing the password. You may be surprised how many people think simply using encryption on their wireless network will prevent someone from gaining access to your router.
With router vendors using popular default passwords such as for example admin for Linksys, Dlink and Netgear, encryption will not stop intruder usage of the administration interface and gaining access to a lot more than just your Network.
Best practice is to change your password using a complex password. If your name is Joseph, you can easily mix alpha, numeric, and special characters to create a password you will never forget such as J0s3ph!r0ut3r*
Tip #3 – Implement The Strongest Form Of Encryption – This can potentially be the weak point of your Network, since wireless signals transmit on the airways. A hacker doesn’t need to be connected to the Network to steal data. Utilize the highest encryption available. such as for example WPA-Personal or WPA2 with an extended pass phrase blended with alpha,
numeric and special characters. Ignore anyone who advises one to at the very least use WEP, which is a very weak form of encryption.
WEP (wireless encryption protocol) is one of the earliest type of encryption and easy and simple to break. You may be at risk by not upgrading to a better wireless router, that offers newer encryption technology. If usb printer to network run a house business, or use online banking, there is absolutely no excuse to protect oneself by creating a small investment for security.
Tip #4 Enable MAC Filtering: A MAC (Media Access Control) address is really a unique identifier, much like fingerprints for people. MAC’s are assigned through the manufacturing of a network device, such as a network card or Wireless adapter. Enabling MAC Filter enables you to control which wireless-equipped Computers may or may not communicate with the Router based on their MAC addresses rather than allow any Computers that have not been added to the list.