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How to ensure your home wireless network is secure
by Sean Scallan
www.mobilize-me.com
Wireless technology has impacted heavily on the way we work
today. As more people choose to work from home, a
wireless network offers maximum flexibility. However, the
majority of home wireless networks are left unprotected
and leave an open door for unauthorised access. To prevent
such an event from taking place, certain measures must be
taken.
Change gateway password: The first point of access an
attacker will seek to penetrate will be using the known
default gateway passwords he is able to get directly from
hackers websites. This is a simple change to make and one
you should make immediately.
Change default SSID name: This is in most cases the second
most important change that needs to be made. Like the
default password, all wireless units ship with a default
SSID or name. The default gateway names are also made
available to hackers on the Internet so change this
immediately.
Hide SSID name: Being able to hide the SSID name is in
most cases only available on the latest wireless gateways.
Once your wireless network is configured and you have
associated your wireless enabled device to the gateway it
is recommended to hide the SSID if this option is
available.
Activate wireless encryption: without some form of wireless
encryption enabled on your gateway, the network is wide
open to attack. WEP is the oldest form of encryption and
may be the only form of encryption available on your
gateway or compatible with wireless devices. Only the later
gateway models come with more secure WPA and 802.1x
security. WEP however, will still provide some form of
protection.
Use restricted DHCP scope: Make use of DHCP to assign IP
addresses on your network and restrict the scope or number
of IP addresses that can be allocated. This will restrict
other unwanted users from being able to gain access.
If your unit offers the feature, note how many IP addresses
are allocated which should be the same number as authorised
users.
Use MAC identification: each network device is allocated a
unique address. Most wireless gateways allow for MAC
address filtering only granting access to MAC addresses in
its internal database. By enabling this feature and
entering your MAC address into the gateway you provide an
additional layer of security to your network.
Change gateway default IP address: Most gateways are
shipped with an IP address of 192.168.1.1 by default. This
is a well known fact to hackers who will attempt to exploit
this. By changing this IP address you make the job of the
hacker that much harder.
Select a different wireless channel: The default wireless
channel, as with the password and SSID name, are made
available to all hackers on the Internet. Most wireless
gateways allow you to select a wireless channel from
between 1 and 11. Take note of what the current channel is
and change it to any channel other that this.
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