How To Protect Your WiFi

Creating a wifi network at home is a great idea, its really easy to do and it also enables you to browse

the web easily from everywhere at your home.However many people are not aware of the risk that's added when using the home WiFi in an insecure fashion.

If you wish to secure your Wireless in order to prevent your neighbors from using up your bandwidth, then sure that’s a valid cause to secure your Wireless, however it really should not be your main concern. The greatest problem with insecure WiFis is that if a hacker manages to hack into your Wireless network he then can simply go through the info that is routed between you and the wireless router and reveal your usernames, passwords or whatever else that is sent between the devices, even when using SSL. This method of operation is called Man In The Middle or MITM and it can be easily carried out by even a novice hacker rather quickly. Locking down your Wireless will dramatically minimize the chance of this taking place. Almost all hackers that try to hack into WiFi's will quickly throw in the towel attempting to hack a safe and secure wireless network since there are a great number of insecure ones out there which provide a significantly easier target.

Every one of the techniques that are going to be described here require that you log in to your access point's interface and alter a number of its options. If you don't know how to do this then check your router manufacturer's website and look for the guide for your specific model. Look for information about how to gain access to that particular router's web interface.

1. Make use of a secure encryption

Using a secure encryption is the most essential course of action, this makes certain that you can only access by using a password. Choosing this options is normally carried out from the security tab under the Wireless configuration menu. You can normally select from three-four options: Disabled, WEP, WPA, WPA2. You should choose WPA2 or WPA - and absolutely do not ever choose disabled or WEP! WEP encryption is an extremely cracked encryption algorithm that can be broken in 5 minutes by a completely amateur hacker. If your access point only supports WEP security and not WPA then you should replace that router ASAP.

2. Make use of a strong encryption password

I'm sure you hear this phrase a lot ; Use a robust password and many people are thinking to themselves that on WiFis it's not that vital, well I've got news for you - On WiFis it's very important to make use of robust passwords. Its very simple for any hacker to use an application that tests the Wireless for millions of password combinations in minutes and hack it it. Make use of no less than eight to ten characters and a mix of numbers, special symbols and letters. Avoid the use of dates, names (including pet names) or phones numbers - This is first thing that hackers try.

3. Change the SSID name

The SSID is the name of your network, it’s that name you choose from the list of nearby wireless networks when you try to join. It's advisable that you change that name and not make use of the default name. Modify it to a name that doesn't completely give away who is the one who owns this network, like your last name - this is particularly important if you're located in a dense population area such as a crowded city.

4. Restrict the Wifi's range

Limiting the transmit range will decrease the chance of a hacker trying to enter your network. In most houses the WiFi can be detected from the outside of it and there is usually no purpose for this. Restrict the transmission range, go outside your home and look to see if it may be detected from there. If it is possible you could relocate your wireless router to the middle of the house to gain maximum reception without creating blind spots brought on by the limited WiFi range.

5. Change the wireless router's web interface password

The router's password is that password you need to type when logging in to the web interface. Technically if a hacker can access the wireless router's web interface then it's already far too late and the criminal has gained access to the network already, but nonetheless, this is a good preventative measure step to take and it will minimize the control that the hacker has over your network. Change the password to a one that's difficult to guess and is different than the one used for the encryption.

6. Look at who is connected to the network
If you worry that someone is using your Wireless network then the majority of wireless routers have got a feature that lets you check out the IP and MAC addresses of each and every device that is logged in to your access point. You can check out that list and ensure that you know each of the devices. This list is frequently named active DHCP list or something like that.

If you put into practice these guidelines then you've got a fighting chance against even the most motivated hackers. Enabling these options takes almost no time at and the security gain is incredibly considerable. All of the tips are essential, however most significant tip is encryption password, if you don't embrace this tip then your networks security is at a very poor state.

by Franklin Forest

photo credit: Viktor Hertz via photopin cc