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Tips And Suggestions
Wireless Networking Security Tips

Update The Firmware And Drivers
Just as you need to update your operating system and programs you also need to up date your access point and your network adapter to deal with security vulnerabilities.

Updated firmware and drivers often includes security bug fixes and sometimes adds new security features.

Change The Default Administrator Password
To improve the security of your wireless network, you should change the administrative password on your wireless access point as soon as possible.

The default passwords for popular models of wireless network devices are well known to hackers and often posted on the Internet.

Enable Encryption
Encryption is used to improve the security of the wireless connection by encrypting the data and also authenticating the client.

The different types of encryption are WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), and WPA2.The best type of encryption is WPA2 followed by WPA then WEP. The best key length is 256 followed by 128 then 64.

Change The Default SSID
To improve the security of your wireless network, change the SSID (Service Set Identifier) to a different name than the default.

Changing the SSID will not prevent someone from hacking your network but when a hacker finds a default SSID, they see it as a poorly configured network and are much more likely to attack it.

The SSID is a sequence of case sensitive alphanumeric characters (letters or numbers) having a maximum length of 32 characters.

Disable SSID Broadcast (Beacon)
In wireless networking, the access point typically broadcasts the SSID over the air at regular intervals. Once your wireless clients have manually configured a profile for the access point you should disable SSID broadcast.

Disabling SSID broadcasts decreases the likelihood that a hacker will try to log in to your network, as more likely the hacker will bypass your network seeking easier targets elsewhere.

Enable MAC Address Filtering
Every network adapter possesses a unique identifier called the Physical Address or MAC Address.

To set up MAC address filtering, you as the network administrator must configure a list of clients (based on the MAC Address) that will be allowed to connect to your network.

Once enabled, whenever the access point receives a request to connect to your network, it compares the MAC address of that client against the administrator's list. Clients on the list are able to connect to the network as normal; clients not on the list are denied any access to the network.

Enable IP Address Filtering
Some access points allow you to filter IP addresses the same way as in MAC filtering.
Clients on the list are able to connect to the network as normal; clients not on the list are denied any access to the network.

Disable DHCP
DHCP automatically assigns all clients (Including hackers) on the network an IP address. Disabling DHCP makes it harder for hackers to access your network.

When you disable DHCP on your access point you need to configure all your clients with static IP addresses.

Replacing The Access Point Antenna
An access point normally contains an omni directional antenna that radiates signal equally well in all directions.

Omni directional antennas are more likely to bleed signal outside the house into neighboring areas where the signal can be accessed by hackers.

Directional antennas allows the signal to be aimed towards the area of the house where wireless devices are located reducing the chances that a hacker might pick up the signal. If possible lower the transmit power on the access point.

Disable File And Printer Sharing
If you must share files or folders do not share the entire hard drive but only share what you need to share and password protect everything with strong passwords.
Use NetBEUI as the protocol for file and Printer sharing.

Turn Off The Access Point When Not In Use
The best security measure, shutting down the access point will prevent hackers from accessing your wireless network.

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