Wireless Network Safety?

Question

How do i make my wireless network safe? I'm picking up my next door neighbours network so i assume they can pick mine up, so how do i make sure they can't hack into mine? Cheers

Sorry for sounding dumb but how do i find out my mac address?

Answer 1

Make sure its password protected and you really shouldn't have too much of a problem.

The information on password protection should be in the paperwork that came with whatever router you have

Answer 2

I probably wouldn't bother with solutions like McAfee.
Basically the strongest protection you can currently have for a home wireless network is WPA. If your router is newish (last couple of years) it will probably use WPA.
If you're still using WEP (older routers) it's probably worth upgrading, as WEP has shown to be able to be cracked within a few minutes. WPA is much stronger (crackable, but stronger).

There are also things you can set up like MAC address filtering and hidden SSIDs, but any hacker worth his salt will be able to get past them quite quickly anyway, so there's not much point.

In conclusion, just make sure that you're using WPA with a strong password.

Answer 3

You should make sure that your network is password protected. You should have instructions in the manual which came with your router. If you are not sure how to do it, phone the manufacturer of your wireless router.

I had all sorts of problems when I first got my Siemens router (from Cablecom Switzerland). Cablecom had sent me a router with outdated software, and were hopeless when I complained to them, so I had to ring Siemens. They were very help full, and talked me through downloading the new software, and password protecting my network.

Answer 4

spend NO money

log on to your router

asign a WPA key NOT WEP key

turn of upnp

turn on MAC filtering

that should be nought for now x

Answer 5

get mcafee wireless protection 2007 i got a brand new one sealed in its box never use £10 and it yours it cost me £19.99