How to secure your Wi-Fi Network

To build a wireless network, you will need an Internet access point and a wireless router. The router receives the Internet data, and then emits the signal into the air. This way, the devices that are within the router’s range can access the Internet themselves.

Nevertheless, as the signal travels through the air, it can be easily accessed by unauthorized devices. This explains why routers need to implement high levels of security. In other words, the signal needs to be encrypted, with the goal of allowing only the known, authorized devices to access it.

It is common for neighbors and even hackers to use Wi-Fi networks without permission. The direct consequence is that the Internet speed minimizes when there is heavy traffic on the network. Of course, if the unauthorized person commits a crime, sends spam emails, and so on, his or her activity would be seen as being done by you, or another family member that is using your network. This is just one of the very serious reasons why you should consider securing your Wi-Fi network.

There are three standards that can be used to encrypt Wi-Fi data: WEP, WPA and WPA2. The WEP protocol was invented several years ago, but it was very weak and it can be easily decrypted, so it isn’t used nowadays. WPA is secure enough for most people’s needs, especially if people use strong passwords. WPA2 is even better, being the recommended encryption protocol for companies of all sized.

Still, just using a strong encryption protocol isn’t enough. Your network can be quickly penetrated if you (or somebody else) uses a weak password like “1234” or “laptop”. The best passwords have at least 15 characters and use a combination of letters, numbers and symbols like this: Ly423@#1Sfdsda!#[&)

It’s always a good practice to limit the access to the network to a known number of devices/people. Researchers at Data Alliance tell us that routers need to be secured as well.

“Change their default name to one of their competitors’ names, for example – this will give the hackers a hard time”, states Mr. George Hardesty, CEO at Data Alliance. “Be sure to change the default password as soon as you power the router for the first time; hackers use lists of default router passwords for successful brute force attacks”.

Some routers have remote management features; make sure to turn them off. These features can only be useful if the manufacturer assists you, provides technical support for a router problem.

As soon as the router is set up, log in as an administrator, and then check to see if the router firmware can be updated or not. Often times, these firmware updates can increase the Wi-Fi speed and improve security.

A network may become more secure if its ranged is reduced. Some routers allow you to set the Wi-Fi signal strength. Move the router closer to the devices that need a strong Internet signal, and then diminish its power. This way, people that want to use your network will have a hard time accessing it.

 

Tech News

1. Facebook plans to change its ad strategy, making the ads much less intrusive. Facebook is now looking for feedback from various people, because its user experience specialists want to understand what kind of ads people want to see.

As a result, whenever someone will choose to hide a certain type of ads, Facebook will stop sending that type of ads to the user.

2. There have been fifteen years since the first Google search was performed on the Internet. Back then, almost nobody knew what Google wanted to do. These days the search engine giant is considered to be the most powerful technology company on the market, and the Google search engine is used by people all over this world.

People in various countries also use Google Maps, Google Docs and the Chrome browser, which are also Google services and products that have gained a lot of popularity.

3. Red Cross has come up with an interesting idea: it plans to work with the game developers, helping them implement real war rules in their computer games. This way, as the games are getting more and more realistic, the players will also learn useful information. For instance, there are games that reward actions and behaviors that would be considered crimes of war in real battles.

4. A new statistic shows that the number of women playing games may exceed the number of gamers within the next few years. In the recent past, most gamers were men, but now things seem to have changed – let’s hope that for the better.

5. Yelp has recently admitted that about a quarter of the reviews posted on their site might be fake. Yelp is the largest portal, where people go to read and post reviews about various businesses. A Yelp spokesman has also stated that all the fake reviews will be eliminated. The company was launched back in 2004; since then, more than 40 million reviews have been published on the site.

6. New statistics show that one in seven Americans do not use the Internet. Wait, there is more: a third of those that do not use the Internet are not even interested in using it.

Most of the people that do not use the Internet declare that they consider it too hard to use, or that it isn’t relevant and/or useful for them. About one fifth of those that don’t use the Internet state that they don’t want to buy a computer because it is too expensive, while about 5% say that they don’t have access to Internet.

7. Nokia is planning to unveil several new devices within the following months, during an event that is going to be organized in Abu Dhabi. Among the devices there will probably be two new Nokia Lumia devices and several accessories. Microsoft has bought Nokia for more than 7 billion dollars.