Wireless home router--I dont have my wireless home router security enabled--Can this cause?

Question

Me any problems? My neighbors are mostly old people, not the criminal type.

Answer 1

Always password protect the router 'web interface', at least by using your own password...using the defaults to log onto it can easily allow someone to take control of it and at the very least cause you some big headaches.

On mine, I simply use the MAC address filtering mode to which I just enter the MAC address of the network adapter for any computer I want to allow on my network. When the router sees that MAC addy and it matches the one installed on the router, the router allows it to connect.

Sometimes it's not that someone would maliciously try to use your connection, but, the auto-detect feature on most laptops will automatically see your signal and try to connect, unless that person has already or knows how, to configure it only for their own connection. (If they are older folks, I doubt they do)
*But, probably don't have a laptop either - :))

Hope this helps.
---

Use protection,
your computer will thank you.

Answer 2

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

On a day i feel typically malicious, I get into my car and plug my computer into my power inverter and start driving. First I turn on network stumbler and find out which network AP's are active and on what channel they are broadcasting. Of course I pick the ones that are unencrypted because those don't require cracking.

After i find a suitable network that I like, I park close. Then I start Airopeek NX. This lets me capture all the traffic coming from your router to anyone using it. :D Cha-ching. You get on myspace, or anything that uses cookies for authentication im in.

I send a disassociate packet so that you become disconnected to your router, I then spoof your mac address, load up the cookie into my browser cookie repository. Then I load up the site that uses said cookies to authenticate and I've just hijacked your session, what ever it may have been.

*doesn't work well over SSL*

Then with the data that I want/need i turn my car on and leave.

Now that's a worst case scenario and you probably have a better chance getting mugged.

So maybe you should encrypt, maybe not. A more believable scenario is a teenager using your bandwidth for downloading movies and porn. Which would reduce network performance for you.

Even if you encrypt, lets say to WEP (which is notoriously insecure) it would only take me several hours to crack with a steady stream of traffic and a bit of luck.

:D

Mac filtering is pretty effective for those who don't know much about wifi and you should be relatively safe.

Answer 3

it is safe to have it password protected. it is easy to do and also prevents others from using ur bandwidth.

neighbours might be old, but them might have friends and kids coming, who could use ur network, which will make it slow.