how can i secure our wireless network?

Question

we have three computers in our condo unit and all i want was that we will be the one who can use our network, i tried to secure it with a wap , with my laptop, then i was the host , though after a day i cannot connect to the internet , what seems to be the problem? should i change my ssid so that the hacker cannot go over with our network? what are the steps in establishing a more secure connection? tnx. need the answers immediately..

Answer 1

Securing your home wireless network:

First, change the default password on your wireless router. Next, download and install the latest firmware for your equipment from the vendor's webiste. Next, turn on encryption. At least use WEP for minimal protection but the best is to use WiFi Protected Access, WPA/WPA2 PSK (Pre Shared Key) mode for home use. WEP can be broken easily by someone who knows how and has the right tools.

Everyone always says "WEP is no good, it's too easy to crack" and that's true, but I usually say, "Oh, really? Have you done it?" and 99% of the time the answer is no. Because it's NOT easy for the average home user. I have done it and I like to say that WEP keeps your honest neighbors honest. But it will not hold back someone who has the right tools (all freeware by the way) and knowledge to break your key. So use WPA PSK, it's just as easy to configure as WEP. If you do use WEP (maybe you have older stuff with no WPA or WPA2 support) then at least change your WEP key occasionally.

Also consider using MAC address filtering, so you can decide ahead of time which machines are allowed on your network. You do an "ipconfig /all" for example on one of your PCs to get the MAC/Hardware address, and then put the MAC address into your router's MAC list. Again, there are ways to defeat this with MAC spoofing, etc, but not without some effort and not likely with your average users/neighbors.

Also use other security features built into your product like stateful packet inspection (SPI) firewalls, etc. Check the manual or just click thru the config screens to see what's there.

Finally, don't let anyone fool you into thinking that turning off SSID broadcast will make your network secure, it will not. That only supresses the SSID in the beacon messages and is not meant to be a security feature, it's more to prevent accidental associations. Still, it is a "best/common practice" to change your SSID to something other than the default and turn off SSID broadcast.

So in summary:
0. Update to newest firmware
1. Change default password on router
2. Configure WPA PSK
3. Use MAC address filtering
4. Change SSID from default and do not broadcast it
5. Disable any type of remote administration
6. Enable any built-in firewall features
7. Block unknown external (WAN) requests
8. Read the manual for your product for other security features.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Wireless isn't that easy to hack if it is set up right. We are not in the age of WEP anymore. There is no way to be 100% secure but If you do WPA2 with a letter,number and symbol password with 12 or more, and set up tunneling no one is going to take the time it would take to read your email. Hack WPA2 with a good password in a few min RIGHT. And its probably not your roommate you need to worry about. Worry about the other people you don't see within a 1000ft or so of you. Your router can be monitored from much further distance then your laptop reads the signal. If you and your roommate use the same Internet a secure tunnel is what you need to learn how to set up. And this is what you should use for any public hot spot you connect to. If you want to share your internet with your roommate use dd-wrt and multi ssid, one open one secure. I find less people take hits at my secured network if i share an open ssid.

Answer 4

I am assuming that you have a wi-fi router that connects to the internet. If that is the case, you would need to configure your router. The best practice is as follows:

1. Use static IP addresses for all your PCs. You will need to assign IP addresses manually to your router and each PC.

2. You will also need to disable the DHCP option on your router that automatically assigns IP addresses to any PC that connects.

3. Configure your router to use encryption either WEP or WPA. It is usually listed under 'security' or 'encryption'. Assign a passphrase or password and configure that password on each PC.

4. Change the password or passphrase regularly.

5. Disconnect or switch off the router when not in use. No hackers can attack if you're not connected!

You may need to be familiar with the wi-fi configuration tools on your PC to set the encryption password or passphrase.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Most wireless routers are configured through your Internet browser. So you must connect your wireless router to a computer.

Type your router's IP address into your browser's address bar. You can find the IP address in your router's manual. You'll be prompted for a user name and password. These will also be listed in your manual.

You want to use WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption to protect your network. You'll typically see this setting as WPA-PSK (pre-shared key). You'll be prompted to enter a password of eight to 63 characters--letters, numbers and symbols. The router will use the password to build an encryption key.

WPA2 is the latest and safest version of WPA. The only weak point of WPA2 is your password. So make it as strong as possible.

Your router may use WPA, the forerunner to WPA2. If so, be sure your password has at least 21 characters.

The earliest security standard is WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). Don't use that; it is easily broken. Check the router manufacturer's site for updates. If there aren't any, don't use the router to go online.

Now you must update your computers. Click Start>>Control Panel. Double-click Network Connections. Right-click Wireless Network Connection. Select Properties from the pop-up menu and select the Wireless Networks tab. You should see your network listed under "Preferred networks." Select it and click Properties. If it's not listed, click the Add button. In the box labeled "Network name (SSID)," enter your network's name.

Under Network Authentication, select WPA-PSK. Select AES under "Data encryption." Under "Network key," enter the same password you used for your router. You must enter it twice to confirm it. Make sure "The key is provided for me automatically" is not checked. Click OK>>OK.

Answer 6

Info from networkmaster and oddball was great.

Just wanted to add one more thing to consider. As stated, WEP is NOT secure, and, MAC address filtering and disabling SSID broadcast should NOT be mistaken for security.

That said WPA can be configured in an insecure manner as well. You need to use a strong passphrase, since WPA is exposed to offline attack. Someone can sniff just one packet, then use "brute force" or "dictionary attack" to guess your passphrase. There are tools that do this!

If you pick a long AND random passphrase WPA is unbreakable.
https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm

Answer 7

If you don't want anyone to even see your SSID, you can set it NOT to broadcast it's name. You would be the only one to know the name you have given to your WiFi network, so it will be private and invisible. I like this one best. It's easiest to get up and running again if you keep loosing your WiFi signal or IP connection.
Use any other name than "default". Change the default WiFi IP address.

And you could also list only the MAC addresses of your equipment (PC's and handhelds) that are allowed to connect to your router, thus preventing use by other computers and handheld devices.

Another way is to issue a WPA/WEP encryption key to your devices.

I hope this helps you out. Good luck.

Answer 8

Change you SSID to something hard which no one can guess, after that change the channel to something else, and protect the wireless Internet with WPA protection its really hard getting through, and also enable MAC filtration that helps alot.

Answer 9

Lets be honest here. Unless you really know what your doing or have someone who is readily available that does, then advanced configurations are a bad idea.

Everything is hackable if someone has the know how and resources. But its like locking the car, the casual person is deterred however even if the professional criminal isnt.

Answer 10

# 1 if there is someone elce on your network. disconnect it from your comps ASAP. # 2 if you have them check on how to enable a security passcode for your network. this will require that anyone connecting to your network will need this passcode. thats it good luck!