How to Secure Your Wireless Network

Earlier this year when I explained how to set up a wireless network, I urged you to set up a password and consider additional security measures. After all, what's the point of ordering a smoking-fast broadband package if all the neighborhood kids are hijacking your signal and slowing everything to a crawl with their blasted Justin Bieber music videos?

With that in mind, I thought I'd get a little more in-depth on wireless security today and give you a list of basic precautions you can take along with some more advanced pro-tips that can help keep your Internet service Bieber-free (unless you're into that sort of thing, which is totally okay).

• Lock down your router – Your router and wireless network both have passwords. To change your network's settings, you need to log in to your router. To keep anyone else from changing your network settings, you need to protect your router. Check your instruction manual to learn how to log in to make changes. Usually, you simply enter a URL into your browser and enter the default user-name and password to gain access
  
  If for some reason you have lost your router instructions, check out this site and you should easily be able to find out what URL to type and what the default user-name and password for your router is. Once in, make sure you give your router a new user-name and password. Stay logged in, as we'll be making the rest of the changes from here, too.

• Set up a wireless password – This is the most basic protection you can add to your wireless network and is the very least anyone should do. Every router manufacturer has a different procedure for adding a password, so check your instructions for specifics. It's never a tricky task, with choosing between WEP and WPA (the two encryption standards) being the most complicated part.

• Choose WPA over WEP – Okay, it looks like things are getting pretty geeky, but don't worry I'll keep it nice and easy. As I mentioned above, WEP and WPA are the two encryption standards for wireless networks. Think of them as the two different types of locks you can put on your house. WPA is a better lock, but not all devices support it.
  
  Make a list of devices you plan to use on your network (don't forget cell phones, DVRs, gaming platforms, super-advanced microwaves etc.) and check to see if all are WPA compatible. A quick Google search for "insert device WPA compatible" should work. If everything you have is compatible with WPA, use that. If not, choose WEP.

• Hide your network – While it can be fun to express yourself—or your passive-aggressive disdain for your neighbors—with a witty network name, broadcasting your network's name is unnecessary and can make your network a target for ne'er-do-wells. While looking through your router's settings, look for options related to the SSID (the fancy name for your network's name) and set it to not broadcast. When you're adding a new device or if a friend comes over, just enter the name manually on the device.

• Enable MAC filtering – This is a tip for power-users and people with a serious problem with freeloaders only. Every device that connects to a network has a unique MAC address. Think of it as a VIN number on a car. If adding a password and hiding your network is not enough to keep a serious threat out (or if you are just really paranoid about people finding your Justin Bieber music video collection), you can tell your router to only let certain MAC addresses into your network. This is pretty advanced stuff, so check out this article if you're interested in learning more.

• Turn down the power – Here's another tip for power-users only. Most wireless routers have the power to broadcast well past your walls and into your street and even neighbor's homes. If you never access your network from outside your home, you can reduce the power on many routers so that people outside your home cannot access your network (I sincerely hope there is no one inside your home trying to access your network without your blessing).
  
  If your router has the ability to adjust signal strength, it will be named something like "WLAN transmitter power." You'll probably need to go through a few power settings to fine tune the network so you can use it inside your home, but not outside your home. Again, this is an advanced tip, so don't feel obligated to mess with this.

Comments

[Amanda]

Wow - where do I get one of the super advanced microwaves?
Just kidding, but this is really good information! I had no idea I could set up how far my wireless signal reached!