Broadband Internet and Routers - Wireless Security Help |
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Simple steps for everyone to secure your wireless broadband connection.If you are using a wireless router for broadband internet, you MUST secure your connection. If you are not using a router, then there may be even bigger problems (read below). If you do not secure your wireless router connection, you are allowing anyone to access your connection and your own pc. This also means people can use your system to download movies and music (making it look like you are the one doing it!). Be smart and use some simple security steps to secure your connection. I'll keep this short and to the point, here are the basics and anyone can easily do this.
First off, you often here the term firewall. The firewall is basically a door between your network (your pc) and the rest of the world (the internet), and this prevents access into your home computer from the outside world. This is simply a small box that connects between your pc and the broadband modem. This prevents easy access to your pc and should be used by everyone who has broadband internet access. This is a great start for anyone who knows nothing about security, as its simple to get (you can find this in any computer or electronics store) and this simple step provides good security. If you have a router, then you already are using a firewall as the router acts as a very good firewall itself. Of course you can get software firewalls also (this means that you just install software on your computer to act as a firewall, but if you have a router then I do not see any need for the software firewall, but you can use both if you wish). Internet worms that also crawl the internet and effect peoples computers can be blocked by routers, this is another nice benefit that you can gain.
When using wireless routers, you MUST secure your network. You often here the term "encryption". All you need to know here is the the bigger the number the better (in other words 128 bit encryption is better then 64 bit encryption, etc.), and that this basically scrambles information so that your information cannot be stolen in the air. There is alot more detail on this of course, but in 2 sentences or less, that is the basics. Most will ask you for a password when you use encryption (they may have several names, whether passkey, password, etc.). Choose something secure! Look at the password help site if you have not already. Make sure you do not forget your encryption password to avoid setting this up again in the future.
In simple terms, you can tell your router that you only want certain computers to access your connection. If you have 3 computers in your house, you can set it up so only those 3 can access it. This is VERY good security. Most will not need this as using encryption as shown above will be more then sufficient, and more then most are doing. But if you are tech savy and really want to go further, then this is a great step. Keep in mind if you buy a new computer or try to connect with a different pc (tablet pc or laptop for instance), then you have to add that computer to your settings or else it will not be able to access it of course. To set this up, you need to get the manual as all routers do this a little differently. Now that you know what this is then it should not be difficult, its just a few simple steps that you will need to follow in your router manual. Return to the main computer security page
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