Thread: Is WiFi Safe.. ???

After yesterdays Delhi Bomb blast, it was found out that email informing about bomb blast, recieved by various media center, was send from mumbai company which used a WiFi Adapter for internet connectivity. It arose a Question in my mind, is WiFi safe or could it made safer. Is there a way to do so.

Like i use Dataone Broadband with A WiFi modem from HUAWEI. And once i have i connected to internet through WiFi PPOE, then any pc/lapton/mobile phones with wifi can connect to my WiFi Network without any authentication and connect to interent. Only If i am connected to PPOE, which is like everytime. And anyone using my WiFI has same f***ing Ip Address as mine. And there is no way of finding how many pc or laptop's are connected to my WiFi.

So, If anybody can help me out with this or faces a same problem then, reply here. Please.


Regards

Just4kix has posted these two guides which will come handy in securing your wireless network :

http://www.indiabroadband.net/broadb...ty-primer.html (Wireless Security Primer)

and

http://www.indiabroadband.net/broadb...primer-ii.html (Wireless Security Primer - II)

you can refer to these guides to make your connection as secure wireless connection, there are two options available WEP or WPA if you go for WEP then would like to advice you to go for 128bit encryption as its the stronger one
Apart from this you should never leave your WiFi on without any security, this can put you in unwanted trouble.

The above mentioned guide is very useful. At a glance, what you have to do to secure your Wi-Fi is
make the router password pretty hard to guess
change the default IP of the router
use WPA2-PSK security standard
create passkey long, hard to guess with maximum char

Good posting there, admin.

Over and above the links that admin mentioned, I have given an example on how to setuo wireless security in Linksys WRT54G router here:

Setup of UT-300R2 with Linksys WRT54G
Solution for multiple machines connecting to same BB connection

Wireless security settings are more or less similar in all routers. Refer the above as examples and do the settings for your own router.

Note that you must also change the default 'admin' password to a strong password that will be difficult to crack.

Usually the range of the WIFI network is a radius of about 30 feet.
depending on the model used.
Height of the antenna and buildings /obstructions also affect reception.
You can check up around your location with your laptop.
All protected/unprotected networks will be listed in your computer.
if you are using your system at a fixed location, better to disable wifi mode, and use the LAN port.

• Disabling the SSID broadcast: To some extent this makes it difficult for the hacker to detect the presence of a WiFi access point.
  
• Enable MAC address filter: Each network interface has a unique MAC address, by filtering it, one can to an extent control which machines can use the access point.
  
• Turn on WPA/WEP encryption: This ensures that traffic between a legitimate machine and an access point is not readable.
  
• Change default admin passwords for access points.
  
• Ensure access points are placed securely. In the centre of a room/office etc to minimise its signal strength outside the office.

Even after following the above precautions, your WiFI account could be compromised and hence, the things to look at are:

• Monitor usage of the access point: Have a clear inventory and knowledge about the position of each access point.
  
• Monitor the usage of the Internet link, to know what traffic is going out. For example, some corporate block e-mail providers like yahoo or hotmail. Hence, even if the access point is compromised, the hacker may not be able to use public e-mail systems.
  
• Consider a specific security policy for wireless networks. For example, most companies primarily use wired networks in the office as the primary media. Access points are used in common areas like conferences rooms etc. Hence, strict policies can be deployed on wireless networks as compared to wired networks.

Apart from all the above guides i would like to suggest something that if you want to know that is someone using my net connection or not??, to check this go to your modem configuration page and go wireless settings and in there look for something related to MAC filter, there you are able to view the MAC address of the pc's connected to your network then from there copy the MAC addresses and simply ban/filter them. That's it

Originally Posted by player

go to your modem configuration page and go wireless settings and in there look for something related to MAC filter, there you are able to view the MAC address of the pc's connected to your network then from there copy the MAC addresses and simply ban/filter them. That's it

Kool information. I'll try it out.