By Jason Granger, Encompass Computer Services
Be Sure To Be Secure
What is the very first thing you should do when you setup a wireless internet connection(wireless router) in your home or small business? Properly configure it to use strong passwords and passphrases of course. Why you ask? Well, here's a fun and interactive game you can play to find out. Next time you finish work for the day and each evening at home before bed, take all of your most important business and personal information, in fact move your entire file cabinet outside onto the curb or sidewalk. Oh, and don't forget to leave your windows and doors wide open as well. Be sure to leave these items out overnight and be sure to repeat these actions day after day. Good work, now everyone has access to all of your most important private information. Eveyone I know loves to share their bank files and e-mail and wow, what a blast it is to share your Quick Books and Simply Accounting data with complete strangers. Good times!!
Okay, obviously, I'm not serious. The point I'm trying to make is this; By using a wireless router that is not properly configured, you are essentially making your data available to anyone within range of your wireless signal. If you use a wireless router at home or in your business, then please take this seriously. In my tech business I come accross several wide open (unsecured) wireless internet connections each week. Some of them left open for good reason, usually offering a service of one sort or another. But, unfortunately most of them have been left unconfigured because of a lack of awareness. So what is there to be aware of? Plenty!! Here's one example.
You live in an apartment building and buy a new wireless router so you can download movies onto your IPod Touch. You unpack the router and plug it in, voila, movies here we come!! Convenient indeed, not only for you, but for every one of your neighbors as well. So why is that a problem? Well consider this; your wife owns a laptop and you have a desktop workstation you use to keep all of your personal records, email and for the bookkeeping of your small business. All three devices, the IPod Touch, your wifes laptop and your workstation all connect to the Internet using your new wireless router. They are all part (members) of the same network, this is desireable because it makes sharing information between these three devices quite easy. Now, keep in mind that the wireless access portion of your new router is not secured yet. This is not desireable at all, it means that every other wireless enabled device (laptops, workstations, Xbox's, PS3's, IPods, this list goes on and on) within range of your wireless router signal are also able to share data with your three devices. Your convenient wireless connection has become a huge liability and worse yet, you don't even know about it!
Unless you know what to look for, it is not easy to tell that your computers are being accessed without permission. It's not as if someone broke a window to get into your house. In that event you would know immediately and could take appropriate action. Computers that have been compromised via unsecured wireless routers often go unoticed for weeks or even months, if noticed at all. Luckily there is plenty of material available online surrounding the configuration and proper setup of a wireless networking equipment and the best part is that you can do most of it yourself. If you use a wireless Internet connection in your home or business, please do not take security for granted. Read the manual when you install the device or have a qualified professional perform the installation for you.
Linksys and Dlink are manufacturers of two of the most commonly used home networking products in use today. I encourage you to go their respective websites and read some of the very useful articles they have regarding the proper configuration of wireless routers. Here are links for your convenience. www.dlink.com www.linksys.com
At Encompass Computer Services we Make Computers and Technology Work For You. If you have questions, comments or suggestions for upcoming articles, please feel free to call or email.
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www.encompass-computers.com
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