WI-FI Security Tips

By now most of you with the internet should have wireless routers, access points etc.  Wireless networking can be scary.  That doesn’t mean you can’t do it securely, however, I aim to give you some ideas that can help you in that regard.

USE A STRONG PASSWORD

A sufficiently strong password (on a system with decent password protection) makes the likelihood of cracking the password through brute force attacks effectively impossible. Using a sufficiently weak password, on the other hand, almost guarantees that your system will be compromised at some point.


DON'T BROADCAST YOUR SSID

What is SSID - the name you give to your wireless network.  Configuring your wireless to hide your SSID doesn't provide "real" security but it does help.  You can cut down on the amount of traffic your network gets from people trying to exploit vulnerabilities on random networks by hiding your SSID.


USE GOOD WIRELESS ENCRYPTION

WEP is not exactly “good” encryption. With a freely available tool like aircrack,WEP can be easily cracked in a matter of minutes. WPA is the current, common encryption standard you should probably be using — though, of course, you should use something stronger as soon as it becomes available to you. Technology is advancing every day, on both sides of the encryption arms race, after all.


RESTRICT ACCESS BY MAC ADDRESS

First let me introduce you to MAC Addresses - these are uniquely assigned alpha-numeric characters addressed to each network card by the manufacturer.  MAC filtering on a network permits and denies network access to specific devices through the use of blacklists and whitelists. The restriction of network access through the use of lists is straightforward.  Beware MAC Addresses can be spoofed into a validated one.



SHUT DOWN THE NETWORK WHEN NOT IN USE

If you have the sort of network that does not need to be running twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, you can reduce the availability of it to security crackers by turning it off when it isn’t in use.  Nobody can't access or crack what isn't there.


TURN OFF YOUR WIFI ON DEVICES

If you have a mobile device such as a laptop that you carry around with you and use in public, you should have the wireless network interface turned off by default. Only turn it on when you actually need to connect to a wireless network. The rest of the time, an active wireless network interface is nothing more than another attack vector for malicious security crackers to use as a target.


COVER THE BASES

Make sure you have some kind of good firewall running, whether on a wireless router or on a laptop you use to connect to wireless networks away from home. Make sure you turn off unneeded services, especially on MS Windows where the unneeded services that are active by default might surprise you. In fact, do everything you can to secure your system regardless of OS platform, mobility of the system, or type of network.

Need assistance setting up security on your wireless routers? CompuTech Support Services offers this service and more here