How to Secure Wireless Network

How to secure a wireless network? The portability feature of the wireless network is apparent – no wires needed which allows you to surf the internet from anywhere within the house. And a good thing is that with your XBOX console, you can add a wireless game adapter and play online games wirelessly in the comfort of your living room with your wide LCD screen.

Unfortunately unlike the wired network, wireless LAN network is susceptible to the eavesdropping by unauthorized users around the network coverage. Besides, if the computers in the network are connected to the internet – they are vulnerable to any types of internet threats such as Denial of Services (DoS).

Whenever we are setting-up the wireless network in home, security might be the last thing to consider. Basically the general rule of the security will correspond to the sensitivity of the data we need to protect. Unlike the wired LAN which is physically secured, wireless network is not confined by the physical buildings. With a laptop and the hi-gain USB wireless adapter, the network can be picked up as far as 1,000 ft or more outside of the premises. This article will discuss about the trick how to secure a wireless network.

Cracking the wireless network security is easier than wired network since you do not need to get a physical connection to the network. In wireless network, data transfer occurs over the airwaves that allow you easily access it. It is therefore you need a systematic approach how to secure a wireless network which includes:

1. Protecting the wireless connection. Wireless connection must be secured against any types of un-authorized access within the wireless coverage
2. Protecting the entry-point of the network which faces the internet. See a concept of securing the firewall that faces direct to the internet.

Wireless Connection Security

There are couples of techniques how to secure a wireless network – protecting the network against any un-authorized access: establishing the wireless connection and configuring the MAC address filter.

With legacy devices (wireless devices based on the wireless –b/g standards) securing the wireless connection can use the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) which was intended to provide confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wired network. Unfortunately there are many several weaknesses found with the WEP system. It is therefore a new industrial wireless security was developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to mitigate the vulnerabilities found in WEP system.

How to secure a wireless network using WPA/WPA2? You should firstly identify your wireless devices if they are compatible with the WPA certification. In Windows XP and above, you have two available choices to configure the security using the WPA: manual or using WCN (Windows Connect Now).

You should configure your wireless router manually if the routers do not support the WCN with the following steps:

1. Connect your computer (NIC Adapter) to the wireless router (one of the LAN ports) using the UTP cable that comes with your router.
2. Turn your computer on. The computer will automatically connect to the router.
3. Open your computer browser and then type in the default IP address of your router. For some types of wireless routers, the table shown lists the default IP address, user-name, and the password you can use as references.

1. Type in the appropriate username and password to logon to the router.
2. The browser will show your router’s configuration page. Find the wireless security page to select the wireless security modes available. Mostly wireless routers / AP support six wireless security modes: WPA Personal, WPA Enterprise, WPA2 Personal, WPA2 Enterprise, RADIUS, and WEP.

If your router supports Windows Connect Now, you can quickly and easily configure the router by following the instructions in Using Windows Connect Now technology. When you configure the security using WPA, make sure that both ends of the wireless router and the wireless clients use the same WPA method and the shared key password.

MAC Address filter

One of the methods of securing the wireless connection is using the MAC address (of the wireless devices) filter. Select Enabled/Disabled the Wireless MAC filter in the router’s configuration page, default setting is disabled. You should enable the setting to configure the wireless MAC filter either prevent or permit access.

You should know the MAC addresses of the wireless device to be included in the permit or prevent MAC address record. The MAC address on wireless network adapters is typically printed on the network adapter’s underside.

Change the default wireless network name or SSID

Service Set Identifier (SSID) is the default wireless network name each of the wireless devices set by the manufacturer. This name can be as long as 32 characters which is the name you can configure for your wireless network name. Each manufacturer provides the default SSID name, but for security reason you should change the default SSID name to something unique distinguish your wireless network from other wireless networks that may exist around your area, but do not use personal information (such as your Social Security number) because this information may be available for anyone to see when browsing for wireless networks.

Change the default password

As shown in the above table, each of the wireless router and wireless access points are configured by the manufacturers the default user-name and password. Change these defaults to something unique that is hard to guess. . Hackers know these defaults and may try to use them to access your wireless device and change your network settings. See also securing the password.

Securing the end point of the network facing the internet

When your networks are connected to the internet, your computers are vulnerable to the internet threats. How to secure a wireless network from any types of internet threats? It depends on the wireless routers security features, but typically all the wireless routers support dual-firewall features: NAT and SPI which is enabled by default. NAT (Network address translation) helps you to hide the private network from the public network (the internet), and the stateful packet inspection will examine the incoming packets thoroughly for any false positive packets.

Suggested readings:

• Risk assessment sample – network assessment
• How to test internet connection – a guideline
• Networking tutorial – areas to cover
• How to tweak internet connection – speed up connection
• Understanding ping IP address utility