Guidelines for Securing your Wi-Fi connection.

Survey's suggest over 50% of people have admitted to using someone else's wireless internet connection without their permission. How can you prevent your neighbours from stealing your wireless connection? Securing your wireless network is a matter of following a few simple steps:

Use Encryption:

Wireless routers give you the option of encrypting your data, so bank details and passwords can not be intercepted. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2) is a stronger encryption system than WEP, but both are helpful in securing your communications. Some older WiFi cards will only support WEP.

Use a Password:

Set up a password for your wireless internet connection. Choose a strong password for securing your network - don't use the one that came with your Wi-Fi router or a dictionary word that is easy to guess or crack.

Don't broadcast the name of your wireless Network:

The name of your wireless network, known as the SSID, should not be broadcast to passers by. In addition, chosse an obscure, hard to guess SSID to make life harder for hackers. SSID's like 'home', 'companyname', 'router', 'wireless' are not good choices. Some older Wi-Fi cards are unable to connect to hidden SSID's.

Use Mac Address Filtering:

Wi-Fi routers and Access Points normally have the ability to prevent unknown wireless devices from connecting to the network. This works by comparing the MAC address of the device trying to connect to the Wi-Fi router with a list of allowed MAC Addresses held by the router. Unfortunately, this feature is normally disable by default when the router is shipped because it requires some effort to set up properly. By enabling this feature and only telling the router the MAC address of devices in your home or office, you'll be securing your wireless network against neighbours stealing your internet connection.

Securing your wireless network using MAC Address filtering is not a total solution as it is possible for a determined hacker to clone MAC Address and connect to your network. However, this measure should still be taken to reduce the risks.

Restrict Internet Access to certain Hours:

Some wireless routers allow you to restrict Internet Access to certain times of the day. For instance, if you know you will not need to access the internet from home between 9 - 5, Monday to Friday, then schedule your router to disable access during these hours.

Make sure your Computers are properly secured:

Check you have up to date Anti-Virus software, current security updates and client firewall software. This will help to protect your wireless network by stopping Malware- based connections to your Wi-Fi network.