Wireless Security

We are in an age of wireless services and all around us we are finding more and more WIFI connections available where we work and play. Now this is a wonderful thing, but we do have to be a little cautious when setting up our own wireless networks at home. What I am going to do here is explain a little on the do's and dont's of wireless services. And how to protect yourself.

WIFI Networks:

A lot of us in the cities and Urban areas have found many of our local HAUNTS have taken on the secondary service of offering free WIFI at their places of business. Some to note would be McDonald's, Starbucks, Panera Bread, and Borders to name just a few.


A lot of city and towns have also adapted a WIFI for local downtown areas and universities where the local companies and small businesses pay in a little chunk every month to help pay for city wide WIFI service for the customers on the go. This is great and is speeding our process of becoming a truly informed and connected society. The WIFI is of course free to the passer by and those that are visiting the store enjoying an Mocha latte and a Scone.


Whether doing school work, working on a presentation or just surfing, the WIFI network provides free Internet access for anyone that is in range. And it is generally pretty secure, and the dangers of connecting to this kind of wireless that can handle a bulk of connected users at the same time; is safe, friendly and FREE. More on WIFI here or Hot Spots here.





OK, now in this article and in general terms when talking to a technician a WIFI network is a wireless network shared by many people in a public area, and is generally offered as a FREE (or some stores and shops charge a fee for access) Service. It can hold many people connected at a time and I refer to this as the "California Freeway" of Internet service connections, as it can carry a lot of traffic and not get too congested and bogged down.

Secondly is a Home or Private Network. This is compared to a two lane road vs the 8 lane Highway that WIFI generally uses. More than just a few machines connected to your home Network and you won't stay connected long.



These are the two main connections most people use, the last one available is a third party service common ones are AT&T or Verizon wireless or Air Cards. These are more Satellite and direct service Internet connections to their network on whatever is available where your standing or sitting and don't always seem as fast or reliable as they claim. They run off a PCMIA slot card that plugs into your machine or through an external USB connected Antenna.

Air cards are a secure way of connecting to the Internet as well but they can be limited in many ways such as home networking other machines or printers to the Internet, etc. They mainly provide a means for you to connect to the Internet when on the go. However this signal WILL get interrupted as you pass from one service area to another, most people forget about this. If your trying to have a steady connection to the Internet while driving, you probably want to look into BLUE TOOTH through your cellphone.

It is always good to log off of a Network when you are done using it when connected to WIFI or any other network while traveling. This prevents errors in how your machine reads OPEN gateways or access points into the Internet. If you don't disconnect from a network before you leave that area, and then try to connect to another network later, the last place you were attached to may be read as OPEN by your computer (even though the door leads nowhere) and you won't be able to FIND the Internet. "Unable to Display the Web page", yuck.

Every time you connect to a wireless location your computer OPENS a door if you will to the Internet, when you leave you want to close the DOOR. Do this by reversing your connection steps, click Internet connections and then disconnect from network. If you don't you will leave a ton of open doors to the Internet that lead nowhere and your computer won't know which one to use and get lost in a maze of dead ends. you'll soon be on the phone with Tech Support.

Now for the reason I am writing this article. Security. How do you keep yourself safe on the Internet wireless connection and what are risks and what are not? Well, read on.

WIFI, overall is secure and you won't have too much interruption in your connection, it is designed to handle large amounts of Internet traffic, but can not be accessed efficiently while traveling, you'll loose your signal. "California Highway."

AIR CARD, overall is secured and will have random connection strengths, it is designed for one machine to connect to the ISP (Internet providers) network and is the comparison to a one lane road to the Internet, while traveling you will loose and gain signal as you enter and exit service areas, not good for traveling connections in your car unless your parked. "One lane road."

BLUE TOOTH to PHONE, secured and uses your cell phone as an Internet connection source by dialing into an ISP. You won't loose connection on this when traveling unless you loose your cell phone signal. This also is made for just one machine to connect to the Internet over the phones BLUE TOOTH technology. "One lane road."

HOME NETWORK, or PRIVATE NETWORK, can not be accessed while traveling, is based out of your home using a Wireless Router or a Wireless Modem from your ISP. Most Routers have to be purchased and set up separately and I prefer LINKSYS, as they have the best Tech Support for Router systems and they make a Router strong enough for every ones need. This is more like a four lane road Internet connection, you can network several computer and home printers, etc onto this network without a problem. Security is only as good as you make it. It is advised to SECURE your home network~ See more on setting up a HOME Network here.

You will want to contact your router manufacturer to properly set up your ROUTER, and be sure you have a working Internet connection before calling them. Explain to them you also want help SECURING your network and they will assist you without a problem. Most LINKSYS units carry a one year hardware warranty for their ROUTER which includes TECH support.

WHY SECURE?

Imagine that I am an Internet thief or pervert. I'm driving around the neighborhood looking on my laptop for an open and UNSECURED network. Once I find one I pull my car over and park, I then connect to your NETWORK and Hack into a BANK or download some illegal pornography, once finished I drive off, you never knew I was there.

Two weeks later the FEDS knock on your door and explain that you have done illegal stuff on your Internet connection. You have no clue what they're talking about and maybe in the back of your mind you think maybe someone you know is the guilty one. When in fact it was some random guy that drove by and used your network. Now you can argue this as every computer has whats called a MAC address. This is specific for every machine made in the world. The FEDS check your MAC Address and recognize it wasn't one of YOUR machines, but now there's a MISSING gun basically, you can still be drug into court, etc, etc.

On another note, lets say your connected fine to the Internet and then log off to go to the store. An hour later you come home and decide to check your e-mail. You are not able to connect. You check all your connections and they are fine.

You have full signal strength and all the lights that need to be on are functioning. Whats happening? The answer to this is called LEECHERs, and it is illegal. Cheap people that don't want to pay for Internet are using their wireless cards to connect for free to your Wireless.

A wireless connection splits its signal for every new machine connected to it. So say you have 100 Mbps (mega bites per second), you log off go to the store. While your gone someone accesses your network getting 100 Mbps, then another neighbor does the same the signal is now 50 Mbps, and more people log onto your network until all the "LANES" of road are used. You come home and can see 5 bars of signal but can't log into the Internet. That's because everyone else in the neighborhood is eating up all possible signal on your ROUTER. Another reason for a SECURED Internet on WIRELESS. Talk to your Router manufacturer about getting this, it is easy to set up and protects you in the long run.

Just because your computer comes with a WIRELESS card does not mean you have Wireless, yes you can access a WIFI for FREE, but anything else you have to purchase. To access someone Else's Internet and connect with that signal, whether it's SECURED or not, is illegal without their consent, and many companies report this or will refuse tech support to use someone Else's WIRELESS signal.

Another thing is, if your WIRELESS HOME NETWORK is unsecured, and the person getting onto your network knows what they are doing, they can log into your router and set a password on it so that you need a password to log into your own device. This will in essence cause you nightmares in trying to get it fixed, the easy answer is - if your network is UNSECURED or isn't acting properly, or your locked out... call your ROUTER service technicians immediately.

Explain to them your situation, and they will help you get your NETWORK secured. The examples I have written above are not absolutely going to happen, but they are descriptions of situations that CAN happen and can easily be prevented.