Wednesday 5 December 2012

How To Ensure Security For Your WiFi Internet In Your House

By Christian Dupuy


For people sharing a house together, it is more economical to get one Internet connection and then route it through the entire house. There are two ways to route an Internet connection; wirelessly as well as through LAN cables. Both types of routing require different technologies. Initially, wireless routing devices were quite expensive and users usually had a LAN routing system setup at home.

Ethernet routers require computers to be directly connected to the device via LAN cables. On the other hand, wireless routers can be connected to via wireless cards. Majority of the wireless routers also provide Ethernet ports allowing computers to utilize LAN connections as well.

Wireless Internet Security Features

When setting up a wireless network at home, it is important to understand the need for security. A wireless network spans across a certain range allowing any number of devices to connect to it. Therefore, a user can easily connect to a router being used in a neighbouring house. There are a number of ways to prevent this from happening.

WEP/ WPA/WPA-2 Wireless Internet Security Key

Setting up a security key on a wireless network prevents unauthorized access. Only those individuals who have the key can connect to the network.

Users can setup a security passkey by logging onto a routers interface. The interface can be accessed via the localhost which has an IP address of 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. The localhost IP address is fed directly into a browser?s address bar.

A WEP protocol on a router results in a weak security key as compared to the other two protocols. The reason behind the weaker security key is due to WEP?s support for lower encryption formats.

Broadcasting your SSID

The SSID of any router is the default name that it gives to a network. The default name of the network is a derivation of its manufacturer?s name. The majority of users do not change the standard SSID setting. In terms of Wireless Internet Security, the default SSID name is considered to be a security risk because it can allow experience hackers to breach the network. Many routers being used today allow users to stop the router from broadcasting the SSID completely.

Setting up MAC Filtering

Every computer device has a specific MAC address that can be used to identify it. Wireless routers are designed with the capability to detect MAC addresses and then perform certain functions. One of these functions is known as MAC filtering.

MAC filtering provides the added security benefit of preventing unauthorized users from accessing the network even when they have the password security key. Mac Filtering is offered by both advanced and low cost wireless routers. It is a very efficient way of implementing Wireless Internet Security.

Final Tips

The most important rule of wireless Internet security is preventing wirelessly connected users from accessing the setup interface of the router. Once an unauthorized user gains access to the setup interface, he or she can wreak all sorts of havoc within a network. Wireless Routers provide a feature which allows only those users that are connected via LAN cables (Ethernet Ports) to the router to access the setup interface.

Consequently, the above mentioned Internet security tips can allow users to successfully prevent their Internet connection from being used illegally.




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