Wireless Help

I am new to the whole wireless thing. Is going wireless safe because I have heard about people picking up other peoples computer on theirs and I don't want that problem. I want to be able to use the internet on my laptop in other areas of my house without people picking up what im doing on their computers. Also can I hookup my desktop and laptop to the same connection?

 

if you have your network setup reasonably well you will keep out most people from even bothering to look. You could get a wireless router, make sure to get one compliant with your laptop and then hook up the cable/dsl modem to the router and the desktop to one of the lan ports on the router. Then try to turn of ssid boadcast, turn on macfiltering and setup either a good pass phrase or shared key. Also, make sure to change your default ssid and login password and then you should be good to go.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 21,862

 

I agree. Wireless, by nature, is insecure because everyone has access to the same signals. What seperates your communications from others are the settings that you use:

1. Do change the default SSID, anyone 'stumbling' can easily figure out the manufacturer of your router and attempt access with the default SSID.
2. Make use of WEP. This will encrypt your transmissions and make it harder (not impossible) for someone to intercept.
3. Change your password for the config utility. The IP addresses for router setups and the default passwords are easily obtainable through the routers documentation (on or offline).
4. Don't use DHCP; assign IP addresses to your computers. This will help to prevent a passerby from just jumping on your network. If you must use DHCP, most routers have an option to limit the number of IPs assigned.
5. Invest in a software firewall. I like Norton Internet Security because it comes with the pop-up blocker as well. I also use Conseal for non TCP/IP packets. Just added layers of protection.

With the exception for using WEP, I do all of the above and never had a problem. I live in an area where there are quite a few wireless users. I figure this also helps because more than likely, if a person is looking to hack into a system, they will pick the path of least resistance (i.e. the less secured system)

 

As far as firewalls go my favorite is Sygate Personal Firewall. It is a free download for personal use and it provides just as much or more security than Norton. Also, I'm not sure if Norton has this feature or not, but Sygate also allows you to set up advanced rules, such as to allow traffic through for specific ports or block from being accessed both ways or just incoming or just outgoing.

http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 21,862

 

if your wireless has 802.1x capability use 128bit encryption
and mac address filtering.
that's as good as you can get right now.
when your on a free coffee shop lan all bets are off
so keep your shares off.
zone alarm works pretty good after you've had it running
and trained it for all of your apps.
kind of a hog though.
it also helps to use a $ in front of your shares so they have
to be mounted.
always password protect shares behind your nat.

 

Another feature to look for in routers is WPA-PSK support. Most newer (at least mid-range and up) routers should support it. It's a little bit difficult to setup, but once it's running it's _much_ easier to maintain, and offers a higher level of security.

It allows you to set a centrally controlled, human friendly (ie. non-hex) password. WEP, sitting underneath is dynamic, which makes it very difficult to crack. This may be enough to where you don't have to monitor MAC addresses anymore, but that's a call you have to make. You should still change your SSID, remove SSID broadcasting, and set your router password.

Three things to remember:
1. Some routers tout WPA as a feature, but it may not be available until you upgrade the BIOS, which is free. My Net Gear was like that.
2. I don't know if Win2k supports WPA, but XP does -- after you load SP2 and a certain MS WPA update.
3. Even after patching Windows, you will probably have get the latest driver for your wireless adapter too. Your wireless adapter may need to be relatively current also.

I've tested it on my friend's Dell Latitude D600 (with the TrueMobile 1400 a/b/g internal adapter) and it works like a charm after updating everything.

This feature only provides protection from your router to your computer. It doesn't prevent other computers from connecting to your computer, so you still need to take care of that side. Like everyone has mentioned, use a software firewall. If you're running XP then at the very least, run the built-in firewall. Third party firewalls are still preferred though.

I think I remember seeing a wireless option in XP that you can set so it only connects to infrastructure devices, rather then peer to peer (ad-hoc). That's not very full-proof though, because routers and access points can be spoofed, it's just another layer of security for yourself.

To protect your LAN, routers sometimes have the feature to disallow wi-fi connections to communicate with LAN connections.