Wireless Security

Graham Roberts Home Computer Services

Reputable & reliable computer repairs and servicing for Barlborough, Clowne, Bolsover & surrounding villages.

September 2010

Your Wireless Router could give you a massive headache!

Well; figuratively speaking that is.

More and more computer users are switching over to wireless ADSL routers to connect to the internet, often simply because their internet supplier has upgraded them. The good news is that they are quicker then the old modems and give you better protection, as they act as a second firewall and provide a barrier between your computer and the internet. If they are set up correctly with an encrypted wireless key code, then everything should be just fine, but the bad news is that a potential security problem is becoming more commonplace that I think you should be made aware of.

As well as laptops and computers, many people are now connecting their mobile phones and other devices such as an iPod, XBox, Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation to the internet via their home’s wireless router, and children as well as adults are using this feature on a daily basis. That’s fine if it's just you and your family, but more and more, I am coming across cases where family members have shared their router's wireless security key code with casual friends, or their children have given it to school mates when they have visited your home so that they can all access the internet on their mobile phones etc, and this could potentially cause you a serious problem.

By giving other people your router's wireless key details, you could unknowingly allow adults or children living locally or "hanging out" nearby to your home, the ability to freely connect to the internet using your wireless router without your knowledge. At best this could simply be a nuisance as it would potentially just slow down your connection speed or cost you over-usage download penalties with your ISP, but in the worst case scenario, it could be used by criminals to connect clandestinely to the internet via your home’s router, and it would be your connection that the authorities would trace any wrong-doings back to, and your door that they would eventually knock on. It's not necessarily the original individuals who were given the key who could be the problem; they might in turn pass on a phone, games console or laptop onto their own friends and family or, (mischievously or otherwise), pass on your full code if they have kept a note of it or saved it on their device.

Basically; once you allow others to have your wireless router’s security key details or let someone outside your family enter it onto someone else’s wireless device, you have no idea where it might finally end up and in whose hands!

So my top IT tips for September are...

1. Treat your wireless key code in the same way you would your credit card pin or bank account password. Think very carefully before passing it onto friends or associates, and please make sure that your children and other members of your family and your friends are fully aware of the potential problems that it could cause you.

2. If you do trust someone enough to allow them to connect to your router, then enter the code yourself but be aware; once you have entered your code into these devices, they will remember it indefinitely, and so will be able to connect to your router as soon as they are within range of your signal time after time, no matter who is using the device.

3. If you have a wireless router but connect to it directly by a cable and have no need of the wireless function, the wireless signal can normally be turned off by accessing its firmware options menu.

4. If you want to buy your own router but have no need of the wireless function, remember that you can still buy the pure and simple Ethernet wired versions.

5. If you have already passed your wireless key on and you are a bit concerned, then change the wireless code and do all you can to keep it more secure next time around.

Please copy and paste the link below into an email and send to your friends and family if you think that the information on this page would benefit them.

http://sittas.com/wireless_security.htm