Securing Your Wireless Network

(Don't be intimidated by the lingo! WAP, WEP, MAC, WiFi, SSID, NIC; they are all there to confuse you! :)

This section has little to do with tweaking your WiFi setup, but more of how to secure your connection from snoopers.

After reading a disturbing article on Yahoo on WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) security, or lack thereof, I begin to wonder why, or how can people be so naive as to think that nobody can access their home networking system. I mean, they wouldn't invite a stranger off the street to rifle through their personal files (paper or electronic), so why wouldn't they be concerned about their vulnerable WiFi network?

The answer is a simple one; they don't know any better! They open the box, plug and play. It works, so why fix it? Most WiFi hardware does come with instructions on adding encryption and MAC address filtering, but 90% of the people are happy it works right out of the box, so forget about configuring encryption.

Let me tell you straight out, if you are running an unprotected wireless network, anyone in your neighborhood, or passerby can access shared files on your home network, or use your broadband connection as if it were theirs. Anything they do via your connection would appear as though you were doing it. Think about that for a minute. Worse yet, a fully accessible networked computer is opened up to hacking or deletion of important files.

At the very least, setting MAC addressing is your first line of defense, and it's quite simple either through your router or Wireless Access Point (WAP). If you read this far and are concerned, look in your documentation for security features. If you don't have the paper/CD documents, go to the manufacturer's website and download the manual.

Don't run your wireless network right out of the box!!!

Just a few of the popular router, WAP manufacturers.

LinkSys Belkin D-Link SMC NetGear 2Wire Netopia 3Com

Usually found under Support, look up your model and download the manual. You may need to install the Acrobat Reader (Free) since most are in this format.

What is a MAC Address?

Media Access Control address and it uniquely identifies each node of a network. It consists of a 12-digit hexadecimal number, 48 bits in length. Written like this:

00:A0:C9:3F:19:1E

The first 3 sets of hexadecimal numbers identify the device manufacturer. In the above example, a quick check here, tells us that 00A0C9 is Intel Corporation.

What's my MAC Address?

Using Windows 95/98/ME, command prompt, and type in winipcfg /all

In 2000/XP, call up the command prompt, type in ipconfig /all

Example:

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00:A0:C9:3F:19:1E (MAC Address)
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.17
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

Each Network Interface Card (NIC), Wireless Access Point (WAP), Router, PC, or any other network device has a MAC address. No two devices in the world share the same MAC Address! The word address means a string of characters, not an actual address. Your MAC address is not broadcast through the internet, nor does it identify you in any way except within the confines of your home network.

Here's an example of MAC Address Filtering on a Belkin WAP

In the above example, 3 wireless PCs are filtered to allow access to the network via the WAP. While this isn't 100% security (neither is encryption), it does provide a level of security that will keep out all but the most sophisticated hackers.

An Example of MAC Filtering, using a D-Link Router

In the above example, the Filter type used is MAC, and the actual filter is set to "Only allow computers with MAC address listed below to access the network". And finally, you would input the MAC and IP addresses, and check "Enable". Then apply your changes. You may or may not have to reboot the router.

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