Tips To Ensure Your Wireless Network Is Secure
by Keith Park1. Reduce the Access Point (AP) broadcast strength whenever feasible
- Cover only required areas in your home or business by placing the AP in a more central location, away from exterior walls.
2. Lock down the AP
- Ensure you change the default password and Service Set Identifiers (SSIDs), disable the broadcasting of the SSID and the option of "administration via wireless connection", if possible. Disable any ports not required and prevent any pass-through traffic if not needed.
3. Use Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
- This will encrypt wireless connections. WEP can be used on many AP's without many headaches during setup. WPA is more secure than WEP but is not yet widespread.
4. Limit network addresses
- If you don't have too many computers connecting, consider limiting the maximum number of DHCP addresses the network can assign, allowing justenough to cover the PC's you have.
5. Use assigned IP addresses
- If you only have one or two PC's connecting to your network, manually assign them IP's and disable DHCP.
6. Turn on logging
- It's always a good idea to log attempted or failed connections and to review these logs on a frequent basis. This will allow you to proactively monitor unauthorized connections.
7. Update your AP Firmware
- Make sure your AP has the latest firmware from the manufacturer. They will issue updates to patch vulnerabilities in the AP that could allow someone unauthorized access.
About the Author
Keith Park has been in the IT industry for the last 7 years and is the author of the website TechCorner PC Resource Zone. Go there for more articles and resources.