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You could be held liable if someone uses your internet connection, as any illegal activity will be linked back to your ISP account.

Having an unsecured wireless network can allow anyone within range—your neighbours or anyone on the street—to access your network or use your internet connection. They could use up your download allowance (possibly resulting in excess usage fees), intercept and read your files or email or, more seriously, use your account to access illegal content or undertake criminal activities.

What is a wireless (WiFi) network

Many of the latest computers come with the ability to connect to the internet and other nearby computers without the need for wires or cables, using a wireless connection. Instead of wires or fibre-optic cable, wireless technology uses radio waves to transmit the data in a way similar to a mobile phone or radio.

A wireless network uses a transmitter (wireless router or access point) that is hardwired to an internet connection. The access point acts as a gateway to connect your computer to other computers on your network and out to the Internet.

The access point makes itself known to other wireless devices (like the wireless card in your computer) by broadcasting an identification number (SSID). Computers that have a wireless card and have permission to access the wireless frequency can use this connection.

Because wireless networks do not require a wire between a computer and the internet connection, it is possible for anyone within range to intercept the signal if it is unprotected.

If you use a wireless network:

• change the default SSID and administration username and password
• turn off your SSID broadcast
• turn encryption on and use the strongest encryption option available
• restrict access so that only specific computers or devices can access the network
• turn off remote access.
• turn off your wireless connection when you are not using it.

Change the default SSID and administration username and password

Wireless hardware and software usually comes with a default digital name—your service set identification number (SSID)—and default administration username and password set by the manufacturer. These are standard names and passwords that any person with the intention of accessing your wireless connection is likely to know.

Change the SSID, if you can, to something unique (that doesn’t include the brand name of the router) and set a strong administration password on your wireless network.  Read more about creating strong passwords.

Turn off your SSID broadcast

By default your wireless access point will broadcast its SSID. This makes it easy for any devices nearby to see the network and while it makes it easier for you to connect it also makes it easier for other people to find and connect to it as well.

Hide your network by turning off the SSID broadcast. You can manually enter the SSID into any device you want to connect. You will only have to do this once.

Turn encryption on and use the strongest encryption option available

Encryption scrambles information according to a particular formula making it very hard for anyone to make sense of your transmitted data if they manage to intercept it.

Make sure you have encryption turned on and choose the strongest encryption option available. WEP offers the most basic protection and should only be used if there are no other options available, such as WPA or WPA2.

Read more in our factsheet on Wireless (Wi-Fi) security (PDF, 478KB).

Restrict access so that only specific computers or devices can access the network

You should restrict access to your wireless network to specific computers that you nominate.

Every computer connected to your network uses a network adaptor, each one of which has a unique 12-digit identifier called a MAC (Media Access Control) address. To give specific computers permission to use your network, you'll need to add their MAC addresses to the wireless network through the wireless software settings. The MAC address of a computer can sometimes be found on a sticker attached to the computer. Alternatively, most wireless routers can tell you the MAC address of the computers connecting to them.

Reduce the power of your transmission

Some wireless access points allow you to reduce the power of your transmission and thus reduce the distance that the signal carries. Although it's usually impossible to fine-tune a signal so precisely that it won't reach outside your home, you can often limit how far outside your premises the signal reaches. Be mindful that if you adjust the power of your wireless connection if may adversely affect the performance of your connection.

Turn off remote access

Turn off any feature your hardware may have that allows you to give administration access to someone off-site, e.g. an administrator who might be anywhere on the internet, such as the person who looks after your computers. 

Turn off the connection

Turn off your wireless connection when you are not using it.