Your Daily Computer Security Tips

I have occasionally mentioned wireless computing in passing, so it is about time we take a close look at securing your home wireless network. You should print out this article, to make it easier to follow along.

Wireless gear uses radio waves instead of wires to link your computers, routers, printers, etc. all together. You cannot much limit the spread of these waves. They often spill out onto the street, and can be picked up by hackers who drive around looking for them. This is called wardriving.

Before we begin, make sure your router supports WPA2 (Wireless Protected Access), and not the older WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy). The latter now provides no protection at all. If you have WEP, try to update to WPA2 on the manufacturer’s web site, or get a new router. You will have to update each computer on your network.

If you are using the router’s default factory settings, those hackers could access your files or surf the Net with your connection, eating up your bandwidth. Each router is different, but you will do something like this: First find the router’s IP address, user name and password in its manual. Then launch your browser and enter the IP address into the address bar, just like a web address. Press Enter, and put in the user name and password.

On the configuration page, look around and familiarize yourself with everything. Look for a setting marked something like WPA-PSK (pre-shared key). Select your passphrase of some 20 characters, using a mix of letters, symbols, numbers, etc. Write it down and keep it in a safe place. Now you have to give each computer the news about the network.

Click Start, Control Panel, Network Connections. Right-click Wireless Network Connection and select Properties, Wireless Networks tab. You should see your network under “Preferred networks”. Select it and click Properties. If you do not see it, click Add, and enter your network’s name in the box “Network name (SSID)”.

Look for Network Authentication and select WPA-PSK. Select AES under Data encryption and enter that passphrase you created earlier, under Network key. Make sure that the checkbox labeled “The key is provided for me automatically” (or similar) is NOT checked. Click OK, OK, and you are done! You now have a much more secure wireless connection.

Syd Tash is a noted computer security consultant and author of How to Protect Your Computer Online. He has been keeping Internet surfers safe and secure since the last century. Find out how he does it; protect your own computer with five layers of protection right here: => http://MyPCSecuritySite.com

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