Here’s how you can protect your WiFi from the next-door thief
This device is compact and can be plugged directly into an electrical outlet
Most of us have WiFi routers in our homes these days. That can cause a couple of problems: When wireless signals are operating on the same frequency, they can cause interference, especially if you’re living in an apartment. And without security, someone could easily hop onto your wireless network.
Setting up a Secure Network
According to electronics.howstuffworks.com, the basic element of wireless security is an encryption protocol such as WPA2, or WiFi Protected Access. Older standards like WEP and the first generation of WPA have been phased out for the more secure WPA2. You don’t need to know anything about how the encryption works — you just need to set up WPA2 security on your wireless router and set a password.
Detecting Wireless Piggybacking
With WPA2 security enabled, it’s unlikely anyone will ever piggyback on your network. But there’s an easy way to spot squatters: Since every device connected to your network has a unique IP address and MAC address, you can easily see a list of connected devices — often listed as clients — on one of the settings pages for your wireless router. Many devices broadcast an ID because they’ve been named by their owners, so if you see “John’s Laptop” connected to your network and you don’t have a John in the house, you’ve found trouble! Even if a device doesn’t show a name in the router’s client list, you can count the number of devices connected.
Your router can also hide its SSID — it won’t show up if anyone is searching for networks. The address will have to be entered manually. You can set up a wireless MAC filter too to “whitelist” devices you own, disabling access for others. With Internet monitoring software, free utility AirSnare will alert you when unfamiliar MAC addresses log onto your network.
( Source : dc correspondent )
Next Story
