There is a widely held belief that Wi-Fi is itself secure. There are still many home owners who add a broadband connection to their Windows operating system and then proceed to create a convenient Wi-Fi connection so that they can connect to the Internet all over the house. But what about security?
The problem with this comes when someone walks past your house or even a neighbour, uses your insecure connection to surf for something slightly the wrong side of legal. To outside observers who may come knocking on your door later to investigate further, it could easily appear that the occupants of the home did the offensive web browsing and not the digital intruder.
Securing a Wi-Fi network with an appropriate level of security is the answer to improper access of your network.
Use WPA2 Encryption, not WEB or WPA
Setting a password to gain access to your network is the first step, but the level of security needs to be current and reliable. There are different protocols that can be used for encryption with Wi-Fi networks.
WEB is a highly insecure protocol that now can be easily cracked by a hacker in less than a minute. Do not use this method of encryption.
WPA2 has replaced WPA as an improved version of the top level of Wi-Fi security available today. This should be used at all times.
Do Not Hide Your SSID (Wi-Fi Network Name)
Though this seems counter-intuitive, when hiding your SSID, the computer you are using to access the Wi-Fi router will be transmitting the SSID name over and over as it tries to locate it and initiate a connection to it.
There are various types of software that can grab these transmissions, so hiding the SSID is pointless.
Using good encryption removes the need for this step anyway.
Strong Passwords
When it comes to key-based password protection for Wi-Fi networks, the longer and more complex the better.
People trying to access your network will use various methods including a brute force attack and dictionary systems that run through the most popular natural word combinations to gain access. By not using a dictionary word for your password, you thwart this approach completely.
For WPA2 encryption, a key can be as long as all 63 characters. It is not necessary to use that many to be secure. At least 15 characters is a good idea to create a good deal of security.
Avoid using birthdays and other personal information that someone may be able to discover with an online search of social media profiles. Passwords need to be a series of seemingly random numbers, letters and other characters that cannot be guessed.
Another Method That Provides False Assurance
Every computer device has a MAC address, which is a unique identifier a little like a VIN number on a car. It is possible to add all the approved computers to the router using their MAC addresses, but an enterprising hacker can discover this information being transmitted once they are close enough to the Wi-Fi signal to pick it up.
Conclusion
Ultimately, using the WPA2 protocol and a strong password is the best protection from wireless intrusions. Beyond that, a good firewall to protect from internet-originating intrusions into your network and good anti-spyware & anti-virus software are must haves too.
