I know a lot of people still run their wireless routers without any encryption whatsoever. You really shouldn’t do this. Why? Well, there are some people that use wireless networks to do malicious things. Maybe they’ll do a little hacking on your network, maybe buy some things with stolen credit cards, the list goes on. People with insecure networks often have the default password on their router, therefore anyone connecting to your access point can access your router! They could also be using packet sniffers sniffing out data you’re putting on the Internet. If you have a bandwidth cap, they’re stealing bandwidth you could be using.
Why leave yourself open to these kinds of threats? Generally all it takes is WEP encryption, which isn’t the most secure, but secure enough that most people wont touch it. Most router addresses are 192.168.1.1, some are a little different. You can look up these details on the Internet if you don’t have the manual handy. Just go into wireless security, WEP, enter a passphrase, generate, and select a default key. Then when you connect, insert that key to get onto your network. Simple as that.
Back when I was a wardriver, I found that almost 80% of wireless networks in my area were insecure. That percent may have changed, but I still see a lot of insecure networks out there. It’s unacceptable!
Indeed! The very first thing I did when I installed our home router was to change the security settings. I’ve heard a lot of my friends leeching of their neighbors’ broadband connection and I told them (in a good way) that they should be ashamed of it. Anyway, people should be wiser about this.
On a more presently relevant note, Merry Christmas from Keithmaxx Press!
Merry Christmas to you too! I was up trying to get a bag of crap, which I didn’t. I’m really starting to hate woot.
I think people are using scripts…
Most routers also have the option of putting in the mac address of computers/laptops/xbox/etc etc….
On most routers this is called “Access Control”…
It is a little bit more work – but seems to be safer than WEP. As WEP is asking for a key (read; password) and as you know = we always can “crack” passwords.
With access control you only give permission to certain comp etc to access your network…. and it is way harder for the “criminals” to get that one copied…. !!
(will soon be a post on my website; http://www.onmycomp.com)
Yea, I know WEP isn’t the most secure. I just think that most people out there wont touch a WEP secured network unless they really need access to that AP for some reason. There is still MAC spoofing that could still let others access the network, if they know the MAC of the computer allowed access.
True; that is why I would recommend combination of WEP and Access Control.
On the other hand; if you look at how many people are totally NOT protected…. from my house I have access to at least 3 unprotected networks….
I think there’s also an option to not broadcast the SSID, so you could change it to something strange, have access control, and WEP encryption. I don’t think anyone’s really going to mess with it then
Yes, there certainly were a lot of people out there with insecurely configured routers. Thankfully, this seems to have changed here in Australia, it’s getting harder and harder to find an insecure network that is Open.
I always configure routers to have WPA security as this is the most secure option. If people MUST have an open network, at least configure the router so that it only accepts connections from specific MAC addresses – this isn’t foolproof or secure by any means, but it does go a long way offering some protection.
Then again, as I always say, data security is always taught best by an excess bandwidth charge
Yea, I’ve never used WPA but I know it’s probably the most secure option. My router doesn’t support WPA, it’s fairly old.
I don’t use WPA but I do use MAC filtering. I input all MAC addresses being used at home so that outside people cannot get it.