When securing a wireless connection, what gets secured? The computer or the router?

Question

Also, how do you secure the router (assuming that is the one being secure)? I have a Westell VersaLink 327W.

Note that I DO NOT have the manual for the router and that I have Windows Vista. Please do tell where to do in a step-by-step procedure...

And please, NO JOKE ANSWERS (had a bad experience with them...)

Answer 1

The router is what your securing. By doing this it prevents other computer to attaching to your network. You will still need a firewall on your computer as well. I don't know your hardware to give you step by step instructions. however if you do this you can secure the network.

Change the System ID: Devices come with a default system ID called the SSID (Service Set Identifier) or ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier). It is easy for a hacker to find out what the default identifier is for each manufacturer of wireless equipment so you need to change this to something else. Use something unique- not your name or something easily guessed.

Turn on (Compatible) Encryption: All Wi-Fi equipment supports some form of "encryption." Encryption technology scrambles messages sent over wireless networks so that they cannot be easily read by humans. Several encryption technologies exist for Wi-Fi today. Naturally you will want to pick the strongest form of encryption that works with your wireless network. To function, though, all Wi-Fi devices on your LAN must share the identical encryption settings. Therefore you may need to find a "lowest common demominator" setting.

Disable Identifier Broadcasting: Announcing that you have a wireless connection to the world is an invitation for hackers. You already know you have one so you don’t need to broadcast it. Check the manual for your hardware and figure out how to disable broadcasting.

Enable MAC Address Filtering: Each piece of Wi-Fi gear possesses a unique identifier called the "physical address" or "MAC address." Access points and routers keep track of the MAC addresses of all devices that connect to them. Many such products offer the owner an option to key in the MAC addresses of their home equipment that restricts the network to only allow connections from those devices. Do this, but also know that the feature is not so powerful as it may seem. Hacker software programs can fake MAC addresses easily.

Restrict Unnecessary Traffic: Many wired and wireless routers have built-in firewalls. They are not the most technically advanced firewalls, but they help create one more line of defense. Read the manual for your hardware and learn how to configure your router to only allow incoming or outgoing traffic that you have approved.

Patch and Protect Your PC’s: As a last line of defense you should have personal firewall software and anti-virus software installed on your computer. As important as installing the anti-virus software, you must keep it up to date. New viruses are discovered daily and anti-virus software vendors generally release updates at least once a week. You also must keep up to date with patches for known security vulnerabilities. For Microsoft operating systems you can use Windows Update to try and help keep you current with patches.

Answer 2

while you are going to ask a severe question, you could a minimum of talk often and not use ghetto spelling. i did no longer examine previous your first sentence (the easily question), so permit me answer that section. every person on a instantaneous community, even while it particularly is secured by an encryption key, is in possibility of evesdropping. If somebody has the main suitable application, that is freely attainable on the cyber web, they could injury the encryption in a be counted of minutes and look at ALL site visitors to and out of your workstation. you won't be able to preclude this.

Answer 3

Well bascially, the transmission gets encrypted based on some pre-fixed algorithm. So when ever data is transmitted or received, the data is either encrypted and decrypted accordingly.

Answer 4

when you securing a wireless network you are securing you computer and router. and encrypting whatever information you have to send. how to secure a wireless router, use WAP security.

Answer 5

the router signal gets secured so not just anyone can access the internet via your signal.

Answer 6

email them and ask 4 instructions