Now the new rage is wireless technology. It is really a simple process to setup or even add to an existing network. By default, you should be able to plug a wireless router or access point in and connect your computers and browse the Internet without changing any settings. The problem is that this means that anyone parked in front of your house with a wireless card in a laptop can do the same thing.

Wi-Fi networks operate in the 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands just like the cordless phones that most of us have become accustomed to. These radio technologies are called IEEE 802.11b, which connects at an 11 Mbps data rate and 802.11a and 802.11g, which connect at 54 Mbps. The signal will travel about the same distance for your wireless network as it would for a cordless phone. You can usually get a decent signal at about 150 feet inside a house or office. With direct line of site the typical range is about 500 feet. These distances can be increased with the use of directional antennas and repeaters.

 As was mentioned earlier, this signal is available for anyone that can receive it by default. There is no encryption by default. If you choose to leave your wireless network in this state, you will run the risk of someone being able to get into your network. If you trust everyone that drives by your house or business, feel free to leave encryption turned off. If you are like most people who would prefer to have a lock on the door to keep the honest people honest and the dishonest people out, look into encryption as well as a few other changes that are needed to help lock the door to your network.

First let’s look at some simple solutions to help to keep your network safe. The first item that you need to change is the password for your router. Anyone who is looking for a wireless network and sees the name Linksys listed will try admin as the password since that is how they all are shipped. Change the password as soon as you setup the router. Do not use the address or your first or last name since those would be too easy to guess.

The next item to change is the name of the SSID and turn the radio signal off. As long as you do not give it a name that is too simple, whoever is driving by will first need to know that you have a wireless network. Then they will have to guess the name of your SSID since the radio signal is now not broadcasting this information out. Then they will have to crack your encryption key. You have now given them more information that they will need to know to get into your system, which in turn will help to keep them out.

Now let’s take a look at the choices that are available for encrypting the data that is being transferred from your access point to your wireless device. There are currently two available with the third slated for approval sometime in the second half of 2004.

The original and most common is call Wired Equivalent Privacy or WEP. This encryption is better than nothing but has been found to be fundamentally weak because it uses a static encryption key. Because of this, an attacker can easily crack WEP encryption by using hacking tools that are freely available on the Internet. You would have to change the key on both the access point and the wireless device on a regular basis to help to insure the security of your network.

Wi-Fi Protected Access or WPA is the newest member on the block. It utilizes a setup password to secure the network. WPA also utilizes 128-bit encryption as well as dynamic session keys. This means that the passkey that is entered into your access point and your laptop is changed with every frame that is transmitted. This helps to insure that your network stays secure since the key that is being passed between the devices will be different with every packet and therefore will be harder to crack.

Wi-Fi access is not that difficult if you take the time to learn a little about the tools that are available. It could be that you will never have a problem without the encryption, the name change or turning the radio off. The question is, are you willing to take that chance with the data that is stored on your computers?