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Wireless internet security - video transcript

 

Most of today's computers connect to the internet wirelessly using microwaves to transmit data, which is very convenient because it allows you to go anywhere and still be online. However, if you haven't secured your wireless connection properly everyone will be having a lend of your network, quickly maxing out your download limit and costing you money. Not to mention leaving you open to security breaches, like somebody accessing your hard-drive and stealing your personal financial details.

How to secure your wireless

So how do you stop this from happening? Firstly change the manufacturers default password that everybody could guess or retrieve off the internet and then create your own. Secondly, restrict how many people can see your wireless network by turning off the feature that automatically and constantly broadcasts your wireless networks name.

Make sure you have encryption turned on in your wireless network settings and get in the habit of turning off your wireless connection when you're not using it. This limits the amount of time your signal can be hacked into.

Its important to know that wireless hot spots in cafes, airports, hotels and other public places are open networks and are open networks and therefore vulnerable to security breaches.

How to protect the data in your PC

Finally there are a few things you should do to protect the data on your PC:

  • Install and keep up-to-date security software
  • Make sure when you have a firewall that it is actually turned on, and
  • Consider removing all sensitive details from your computer if you don't need it because if it's not in there, no one can steal it.