How to secure a wireless LAN
Posted on | July 6, 2009 | 1 Comment
Terrorists have been using open and unsecured wireless networks to send threat emails, latest case is of the American citizen Haywood who was living in the city of Navi Mumbai. Here are some tips that will help you secure your home or office Wi-Fi network from unwanted elements. You must change the default settings of the wireless router in order to protect yourself as it is weak . If you know how many computers are there in your Wi-Fi network, it’s easy secure yourself.
Follow these steps:
1: Change the default password
Each router has a default username and password which you must change before you start using it. Otherwise, a stranger, after gaining access to your User-1d and password might be able to reconfigure your router rendering all your other security measures useless.
2: Change the default IP address
Every company have common default IP (Internet Protocol) address for their routers. This should be changed. However, you have to stay within the series (eg. 192.168.xxx.xxx) but the last values can be changed to anything as you like.
3: Disable the DHCP service
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) enables remote computers connected to the router to access your IP address and connect to the network without needing to know the IP and router address information. If possible, set up the computers with static IP addresses. If you still want to use DHCP , restrict the number of DHCP IP users to the number of computers you have on your network.
4: Change the default SSID
The SSID is the name of your network. It reveals the name of a house or office ie. the origin of the signal, allowing hackers identify the physical location of your router. To prevent this change the SSID to some random name, or disable SSID, if possible. Disabling makes your invisible to laptops and cellphones in the area which can automatically scan for Wi-Fi hotspots to try and join them.
5: Use WPA2 or PSK security over WEP
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) keys can be cracked easily, so choose WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), which makes use of 64-bit or 128-bit encryption. PSKs are Pre-Shared Keys, which provides more security than WEP or WPA. These encrypted keys are shared by the router and your Wi-Fi devices. The higher the encryption rate, the more difficult it is for a hacker to crack your network.
6: Enable the MAC Filter
Enable MAC (Media Access Control) address filtering to restrict or authenticate a particular computer on the network. If an unauthorized computer tries to connect to your network, it will be rejected.
7: Use the router’s firewall
If your router has firewall feature enable it.
8: Disable remote administration
Remote management features is a helpful and convenient feature if you are always on the move, but can also be the weak link for hackers to exploit. Enable this feature only when you really need it.
9:Keep the router switched off when not in use
Switch off the router if you are not going to use it for long periods, such as at night, when travelling, etc.
10: Disconnect the Internet when not needed
If you do not need to use the Internet at all times, you should unplug disconnect the internet connection.
11: Make your router difficult to access physically
If possible, keep the router at the center of your home or office so that no one can easily hit the reset button rendering all your security precaution useless.
If you liked this post check out how to secure your laptop.
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July 14th, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
Great article