Thread: Protect the network

There are several steps that you should take to ensure that your wireless connection is secure: CHANGE THE DEFAULT ADMINISTRATOR USERNAME AND PASSWORD: Most wireless routers and hardware come with easy-to-remember and well-known default name/password combinations. As a first step, change these immediately.

TURN ON THE ENCRYPTION: You can use either WEP (weaker) or WPA [recommendedl encryption over your wireless network for greater security. CHANGE THE DEFAULT NAME OF YOUR HARDWARE: Wireless hardware use network names called SSIDs; for example, the SSID for a Linksys router is usually 'linksys'. Such well-knows names are a first step to attacking your network so change them as soon as you can.

DISABLE SSID BROADCAST: Your router or access point regularly broadcasts your network name to enable Wi-Fi enabled laptops to transparently use the network. A snoop could listen in to such a broadcast. At home, this feature is unnecessary and should be disabled.



TECH DOCTOR
To make the above changes, you will need to connect to
your router. Follow these steps:
o Open Internet Explorer and enter the default address for your router, generally it is:
o Click on the "Administration" tab and change the router password
and check HTTPS
as your "Access Server".
o Click on the "Setup" tab and then on "Basic Setup" to change the name of your router
o Click on the "Wireless" tab and then click on "Basic Wireless Settings" to change the SSID of your router.
o Click on the "Wireless" tab and then on "Wireless Security" to choose an encryption method.