setting up wireless security

[shanti]

i JUST got my wireless router to work after 3 weeks. don't ask how it did it tho, lol. however, i'm uneasy about whether my network is secured correctly. i went to the linksys website, but was unable to make sense otheir troubleshooting.

can any of you techno du'ers help with a quick and dirty walk thru?

[Ready4Change]

1. Some things to do

By looking into security you're already a step ahead of over 50% of the home wireless users. Congrats. Anything you do will make you a harder target to access, which makes it more likely wannabe surfers will pass you by for an easier target.

There are basically 2 types of people who might want to "steal your bandwidth" via your wireless router. There are the convenience types who are just looking for an easy connection, and the hackers. Convenience types don't try very hard, and will move along to an easier target if you offer any resistance.

Hackers, OTOH, are ATTRACTED by your security, and take it as a challenge to break through it. They are relatively rare, however, some of them are good enough you won't stop them with gear bought at a Best Buy.

With that in mind, I usually change a couple of defaults and implement WEP security. That stops the convenience types, and doesn't attract to much attention from the hackers. Just my humble opinion.

To me the biggest thing is to change the administrator password. Everyone knows the default passwords, and with that they can do ANYTHING.

I always change the routers name (SSID). The default is probably "Linksys". This is like naming your sailboat. No need for mixing letters and numbers, etc. It's just to make the router feel like "home" to me.

I don't bother disabling the SSID broadcast, as doing so only makes logging in harder for my friends, and won't give amateur hackers any pause. ("Sniffer" software will find supposedly unbroadcast SSIDs in no time.)

I do use 128 bit WEP. I hear it can be cracked in 45 minutes or so, maybe less if the cracker has better hardware. However, most don't, and most would rather cruise on and find a wide open router rather than sit and do nothing until they crack yours. And the ones who WOULD rather sit around and crack you open just salivate more if you have higher security levels. So to me, 128bit WEP is just right for a home system.

I am now using MAC address filtering. Had a neighbor who was becoming a pest (why I know about WEP cracking.) So, by disallowing all but known MAC addresses I've managed to hold him at bay. At least so far. :) However, it's a bit of a hassle, so I wouldn't bother unless you run into problems.

If you want to do any of these things, but can't find how to do so, just post the question. I'll be happy to help with whatever little I know.

[RoyGBiv]

2. Good advice ...

If one wants to go into ultra-paranoid mode, there are other things to do, but these kinds of things will work most of the time. Of course, if one is ultra-paranoid, one doesn't use wireless. :-)

As an aside, I'd say by just looking into security, the OP is ahead of far more than 50% of wireless users, and I'm afraid the ratio is going to get even worse. For a long time, wireless networking in the home was something you had to seek out if you wanted it, which meant you probably already had some idea of the basics. Then broadband providers started doing installs for people, and marketing it, but it was expensive. In the past six months to a year, however, broadband companies and retailers are actively marketing wireless as a solution even for one-computer homes (so you can carry your laptop anywhere in the house). Now we're getting people who actually have an image of "installing the Internet" on their computers who are going to have wide open wireless routers.

I've seen the default install software for some of these systems, and it's a total joke. It implements WEP security *if you ask it to*, but with Windoze 2000 or above, you don't even really need to run the installer, so many people won't since they'll suddenly realize their computers are talking to them about finding networks without ever having read the manual that mentions security. If they think of it at all, they think their pop-up blocker they downloaded from MS.com will protect them.

It's going to be a nightmare as this trend grows.

Short story: I brought a friend's laptop into my apartment the other day to clean up some garbage from it he couldn't seem to get rid of. It's one of those systems with built-in wireless, and when I turned it on, it started throwing out messages about finding a network and asking what I wanted to do with it. Just for giggles, I said to use it, and I could, no problems. (And I don't have a wireless router in my place.) So, someone near me is running totally open.