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10 ways to wireless security

• Tags:
• Security,
• WPA,
• Wi-Fi,
• WEP

Deb Shinder

Published: 30 Sep 2005 15:30 BST

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Wireless networking is easy to set up, and it's convenient, especially if you like to move around the house or office without your portable computer while staying connected. But because they use the airwaves, wireless communications are more vulnerable to interception and attack than a wired connection. Here are some tips for securing your wireless network.

1. Use encryption
Encryption is the number one security measure, but many wireless access points (WAPs) don't have encryption enabled by default. Although most WAPs support the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol, it's not enabled by default. WEP has a number of security flaws, and a knowledgeable hacker can crack it, but it's better than no encryption at all. Be sure to set the WEP authentication method for "shared key" rather than "open system". The latter does not encrypt the data; it only authenticates the client. Change the WEP key frequently and use 128-bit WEP rather than 40-bit.

2. Use strong encryption
Because of WEP's weaknesses, you should use the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) protocol instead of WEP if possible. To use WPA, your WAP must support it (you may be able to add support to an older WAP with a firmware upgrade); your wireless network access cards (NICs) must support it (again, a firmware update may be necessary); and your wireless client software must support it. Windows XP Service Pack 2 installs the WPA client. SP1 machines can be updated to support WPA by installing the Windows WPA client with the Wireless Update Rollup Package — see this page for more details. Another encryption option is to use IPsec, if your wireless router supports it.

3. Change the default administrative password
Most manufacturers use the same default administrative password for all their wireless access points (or at least, all those of a particular model). Those default passwords are common knowledge among hackers, who can use them to change your WAP settings. The first thing you should do when you set up a WAP is change the default password to a strong password (eight characters or more in length, using a combination of alpha and numeric characters, not using words that are in the dictionary).

For the next seven tips, click here...

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