Smart wireless internet connection

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. This is why it is called wireless connection. Instead of wires or fibre-optic cable, wireless technology uses radio waves and/or microwaves to transmit the data similar to a mobile phone or radio.

If you are using a wireless connection to the internet, or between other computers in your office or home (i.e. a wireless network), make sure you can protect your connection. If you don't secure your wireless connection properly, people in your neighbourhood may be able to use your internet connection or access the information on your computer.

What you need to do…

1. Wireless hardware and software usually comes with a default password set by the manufacturer. These are standard passwords that any unauthorised person with the intention of accessing your wireless connection is likely to know. Make sure the wireless hardware and software you are using have strong passwords
2. Restrict how many people in your neighbourhood can 'see' your wireless network by:

• turning off the feature that automatically and constantly broadcasts your wireless network's name (this is called the SSID) beyond your premises into the local area; and
• reducing the power of the transmission (if your wireless equipment allows it) so it reduces the distance that the signal carries.

3. Make sure you have encryption turned 'on' in your wireless software settings. Encryption means to take data and scramble it according to a particular formula in such a complex way that it is extremely difficult for anyone without the formula to make sense of it. The formula is separated from the data until it is needed to unscramble it. This makes it very hard for anyone on the Internet who somehow manages to intercept your transmitted data to make sense of it.

The standard form of wireless encryption is called WEP (Wired Equivalency Privacy). This offers basic protection but WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) offers greater protection. WPA support is built into Windows XP (with the latest Service Pack that can be downloaded from Microsoft’s website) and virtually all modern wireless hardware and operating systems. Turn WPA on by selecting it in the encryption section of the wireless software on your system.

4. 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 identifier called a MAC (Media Access Control) address. You will need to find the MAC address of each system and register it via software settings with the router and the central access point to the wireless network—usually a computer.
5. Turn off any feature your wireless 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.
6. Turn off your wireless connection when you are not using it.

Further information

This is a more technical area than some others so you may wish to look on the internet for further explanations of the terms used here. This can be done by typing the term 'wireless security', or a specific word, into your favourite search engine.

Articles and fact sheets on wireless technology security can be found on the Internet Industry Association’s security website. Hint: search for the term 'wireless' in their search feature.

You can find encyclopaedias and dictionaries dedicated to the internet and information technology by searching your favourite search engine for terms like 'encyclopaedias devoted to the Internet' or 'computer dictionary'.