Boro

iTrader: (1)

What exactly could they do? Apart from the obvious using your connection to connect to the internet. Could they, access your computer from it?

Just wondering how much of a risk not having WEP/WPA encryption is?

BlkKnight

They potentially have access to everything connected directly & indirectly to the wireless connection.

Yes it's worth securing. . . .

twistybits

if they figured out the username and password for your router they could change the settings and lock you out of your own network

RX--Russ

can reset the router but its a shlep. best change your key

wacky.banana

Access your network and leave you with a few viruses to contend with? Nick personal information? Send out emails in your name?

Basically access all services in your network if both your network and system were wide open. Not a good place to be.

The choice is yours.....

WB

Geezer

If you only ever use your PC/Laptop to access it, why not tie it down by MAC address? It's unique and you don't have to worry about when someone works out how to break WEP WPA encryption easily!

I'm sure someone more security savvy may point out an error there, but it seems to be a decent method to use.

Geezer

KiwiGTI

Actually I couldn't care less about everything mentioned so far, I would be bothered however if someone downloaded and accessed child pornography because you would have a lot of explaining to do. (guilty until proven innocent in this country now)

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

You would only really need to worry if you had set up sharing on any of your folders etc, then they could access your files and download a virus to your computer and run it on there. Your average person hijacking your connection will not really be interested in doing this though, they just want free internet access.

As regards using the mac key, macs are easily spoofed, I would say that is easier than wep, and I am sure netstumbler will give you the mac of any wireless devices in range.

If you are really paranoid, then a lot of routers that have wep allow you to have 4 keys, just switch between these every few days (not forgetting to change it in your wireless adaptor), also change the ssid every so often as well, however if someone really wants access that bad then they will gain access.

Also if your computer is always on, and it is the only computer connected to your router (no console//laptop etc) then again a lot of routers allow you to set how many ip addresses can connect to it. Just change this to 1. You can also disable the dhcp server and manually assign your ip address in your adapter card

Boro

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the reply guys. I currently have the lappy and xbox and soon wii will be connected to the network.

So, im guessing setting up WEP as a minimum, is it 64 or 128bit i need to use?

HankScorpio

I don't use Wep/wpa but have done the following to help secure:
DHCP limited to number of devices and long leases
MAC filtering
SSID broadcast disabled.

If anyone is determined enough to do badness, they will.

If you're into dodgy stuff, leaving unsecured has been a successful defence in the US. File sharer showed that with non secured wireless, it could have been anyone in the vicinity who was sharing all the movies and music. Case thrown out.

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

128bit is better but it is supposedly slower than 64 bit, I havent noticed the difference though to tell you the truth. Like HankScorpio says though, if someone wants it bad enough (and they are clever enough) then they will still attempt access

Shark Man

If its just for home use and you have nothing covered up the national secrets act on your PC then as mentioned, basic WEP encryption and MAC filtering and hiding your SSID (once everything is working) is all thats needed. And pretty easy to setup.

The main two things you want to stop is people leeching your internet (especially if you have max download limits) and people being able to browse your shared folders.

Finding MAC addresses of your networked systems is easy enough: on each computer click: start-->run, type "cmd" then enter, then type "ipconfig/all" and enter. Your MAC address is listed under "physical address". Then plonk that number into router's setting, your router may want you to use colons to seperate the number instead of hyphens though

In reality, the average next door neighbour isn't going to a super whizz be kid hacker (although, if they look geeky, be suspicious ). So unless you have confidential data its not really worth bothering. But if your interested in maximising security, feel free to try the other options.

mike1210

yes most people will jump on someone elses to use the net without paying but most if not all routers these days support WPA/WPA2 security, so if you have that feature i'd strongly recommend using it, generate a strong password here

WPA-PSK Key Generator | Kurt's Website

mannyo

I use WPA encryption. Its not only about securing your network, without encryption all you need is a packet sniffer on a remote device and away you go. Usernames and passwords for online banking, this forum etc. its all there in plain text.

Mac filtering on its own isnt really enough, limiting dhcp likewise. Once connected to your network all the hacker needs to know is a valid IP address for your subnet, and as most of the makers defaults are the same thats easy. Once they have an IP that works, then the same packet sniffer will find the mac address. Clone that address onto the hackers card and away they go.