Tips For Securing Your Home Wireless Router

Wireless routers are extremely common these days because of the convenience and flexibility they provide. For the most part a wireless router allows you to connect pretty much anywhere within range without wires. The wireless capable routers are being provided by Internet providers and many times wireless is enabled by default. If you are lucky the WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is set so it is more difficult for someone to access your network and steal bandwidth. But, this is about the extent of security that is set by default and WEP has been proven to be easy to crack. Just Google "cracking wep" and you will see several results showing how to crack WEP secured networks.

It isn't enough that it is made simple by the Internet provider to access the wireless network. Wireless Network Interface Cards (NIC) are now standard in most laptops and the operating system will automatically detect a wireless network. Then, walk you through setup process. In essence you could be completely computer illiterate and get onto an unsecured wireless network and possibly be unaware.

There are simple three things you can do to your wireless network to help make it more secure and difficult for people to hijack.

Encryption

Encryption does not allow people immediate access to your network and also keeps data from being sent from computer to router (or vice versa) unencrypted. WEP is very weak, but better than nothing. WPA2 is more secure.

Hide the Service Set IDentifier (SSID)

Hiding the SSID makes it so WAR drivers or neighbors can't just see your network ID by doing a simple network search. Along with hiding the SSID, make it something that is difficult for someone to guess. Preferably something random and completely unrelated to you or your family.

Limiting Access To Specific Media Access Control (MAC) Addresses

Set your router to accept only MAC addresses associated with the computers you want to access your network. This helps keep someone that cracked your encryption and guessed your SSID off your network because the MAC address of the NIC does not match any you have set into the list of acceptable MACs on your wireless network.

These three things can go a long way to keeping your home wireless network secure and not visible to possible hijackers. Keep in mind, that wireless is not all that secure and even with applying the few steps it can take someone who knows what they are doing to hi-jack your wireless network and steal your data in an unencrypted state in less than an hour. So, if you have sensitive proprietary information it is advisable to use software to better encrypt your information before it gets sent across the network.

For step-by-step instructions on how to set and manage these settings please check out WebTechTorial.

Michael Zaun - www.webtechtorial.com

Simple Wireless Security Configuration

More and more people everyday are switching over to wireless technology. They are using it at home and at work to be able to connect to the internet without having the hassle of being connected with a hard line Ethernet cable. There are many advantages to doing this. With the power of laptops getting better everyday and more and more requirements for being mobile, it is a perfect solution. The problem is, many people just set up their router at home and connect without any security enabled.

Without the proper protection on your network you can open yourself up to many hazards. The worst outcome being a hacker getting into your personal computer and stealing your information and possibly your identity. It is essential to have proper protection if you are using wireless.

Ok, so you just purchased a Linksys 54G wireless router and are ready to install it. You have no idea how to configure it and found that it works by just connecting it. You scan for available wireless networks and see "linksys" SSID and it is open. You connect and have internet. Great, you're done and everything works. Wrong, if you can connect without a password, so can anyone else in the area.

First things first, we need to change the SSID and set a strong password for wireless. If you have over 20+ characters there is no way anyone can break in to it by brute force. It would take them in upwards of a few billion years at 60 passwords a second 24/7/365.

To connect to your router to manage it we need to find out the default address. You can either look in the documentation it came with or find out for yourself. To do this go to the command line by going to your start menu and opening the Run command. In the provided line type cmd; this will open a command line. In the command line type ipconfig. This will show you four lines for each adapter. We are interested in the line that says Default Gateway. If you have a Linksys router it should be 192.168.1.1. Now we take that address whatever it may be and type it into your internet browser URL line. When you hit Go a username and password box will show up. The default will be in your documentation but it is mostly Username: admin Password: admin. When you get in you will be brought to a home screen. For now all we want to change is the time zone setting towards the bottom and then hit the save settings button. The router will save and bring you back to the home page.

Next, to change the wireless settings. At the top of the home page there are a few menu buttons. Look for the one called Wireless and click on it. There should be four or five tabs in the wireless group. Basic Settings is the first. Here is where you set your SSID. Choose something you will recognize but not give away any information such as "CHome". You can change the channel it is broadcasting on here is there are a bunch of other access points using the same channel but you should be ok with channel 6. Finally, have the broadcast SSID radio button selected then hit save.

After the page comes back go to the Security page under Wireless, and you will see a few more selection areas. Under the security mode drop down select WPA Personal (PSK). PSK stands for Pre-Shared Key which will be your password to connect to the wireless. Please, please do not choose WEP, it is outdated and can be broken into within 30 by anyone with half a brain. Finally, choose your pre-shared key. For the best security make it at least 15 characters. It will not be hidden so if you forget it you can always log into your router and see what it is. Have a mixture of numbers, letters, capitalized letters, and special characters for the strongest password. After you save the settings on this page you are done setting up your secure wireless access point.

One last thing you need to do before you leave the router is change the default admin password. This can be found under the administration tab at the top of the page on the Management page. The password is the first box called Router Password. Change this to something you can remember but somewhat difficult. If you lose this password you will not be able to get into your router without resetting it and having to start all over.

That is it. It may look complicated but if you follow this step by step you should be able to configure your wireless in less than 15 minutes and never have to worry about someone breaking into your network.

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Branden DiLorenzo a professional computer systems technician.

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Wireless Router & Security - A Step-by-Step Guide

Setting up a wireless router is easy. Essentially you turn your cable or DSL modem off and your wireless router on. Then, you connect the router to the modem with a cable, and turn the modem back on. You are more or less done. The wireless network wizard on your computer will pick up the router and, if your ISP does not have any special requirements, away-you-go, you are on the Internet.

For ease of setup and configuration, manufacturers ship wireless routers with all security disabled. Therein lies the problem. If you do not take any further steps to secure your router, and a surprising number of people don't, your network will be wide open to all passersby and strangers. It's like you've hung out a sign, "The door is open. Please come in and help yourself."

The problem is not that strangers will be able to use your router to access the Internet but that, without further protection, would-be intruders will be able monitor and sniff out information you send and receive on your network. Malicious intruders can even hop on to your internal network; access your hard drives; and, steal, edit, or delete files on your computer.

The good news is that it is relatively easy to secure your wireless router. Here are three basic steps you should take.

1. Password protect the access to your router's internal configuration

To access your router's internal setup, open a browser and enter the routers setup URL. The URL will be specified in the manual. The URLs for D-Link and Linksys routers, two major manufacturers of wireless routers, are [http://192.168.0.1] and [http://192.168.1.1], respectively.

For Linksys routers, leave the user name blank and type "admin" (without the quotes) in the password field and press enter. To change the password, simply click on the Password tab and enter your new password.

For other routers, please consult your manual. Alternately, you can search on the Internet with the term "default login for ". Don't be surprised to find quite a number of pages listing default login parameters for many different routers, even uncommon ones.2. Change the default SSID (Service Set IDentifier)

The SSID is the name of a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network). All wireless devices on a WLAN use SSIDs to communicate with each other.

Routers ship with standard default SSIDs. For example, the default SSID for Linksys routers is, not unsurprisingly, "Linksys". As you can see, if you don't change the default SSID of your router a would-be intruder armed with a few common SSIDs from major manufacturers will be able to find your wireless network quite easily.

To change the SSID, click on the Wireless tab. Look for an input item labeled SSID. It will be near the top. Enter a new name for network. Don't use something like "My Network". Use a name that is be hard to guess.

3. Disable SSID broadcast

Wireless enabled computers use network discovery software to automatically search for nearby SSIDs. Some of the more advanced software will query the SSIDs of nearby networks and even display their names. Therefore, changing the network name only helps partially to secure your network. To prevent your network name from being discovered, you must disable SSID broadcast.

In the same screen that you changed the name of your network, you will see options for SSID broadcast. Choose "Disable SSID" to make your network invisible. Now save all your settings and log out.

Since your wireless network is now invisible, you will have to configure your computers to connect to your wireless network using the new name. On Windows XP, start by clicking on the wireless icon in the Notification Area and proceed from there.

With these three steps, your network now has basic security. However, if you keep sensitive information on your computers, you may want to secure your wireless network even further. For example, you can

Change the channel your router uses to transmit and receive data on a regularly basis.
Restrict devices that can connect to the router by filtering out MAC (Media Access Control) addresses.
Use encryption such as WEP and WPA.

As with most things in life, security is a trade off between cost (time, money, inconvenience) and benefit (ease of use). It is a personal decision you make. However for the majority of home uses, the three basic steps plus WEP/WPA encryption provides reasonably strong security.

Turning on encryption is a two-step process. First you configure your router to use encryption using an encryption key of your choice. And then, you configure your computer to use the encryption key. The actual process of configuring your router for encryption varies from router to router. Please consult the router's manual.

There are even stronger methods for ensuring security. A strong and robust security method is RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Service). Using RADIUS requires additional hardware and software. However, there are companies that offer RADIUS security as a subscription based service. The fees are reasonable and dropping.

Therefore for example, if you run a business on your wireless network, have sensitive data on your computers such as credit card information, and have a number of users who access your network, you should consider using RADIUS. Since the service sector for RADIUS is dynamic and growing, a search on the Internet with terms like "RADIUS subscription" or "RADIUS service" is probably the best way to locate one.

Brian Medini in association with http://computer-internet.marc8.com Fast reliable wireless router

Wireless Security 101

In today's' modern world wireless networks have now become commonplace. With wireless networking you can connect multiple computers together without the need for cables. Wireless networking also allows you to share resources such as printers, Internet and files.

To set up your Wireless Local Area Network or (WLAN) for short you will need a Wireless Router. A Router is actually 3 network device in 1. It acts as a Wireless access point, which allows several wireless devices to connect to each other. A switch which essentially directs information over the LAN, and allows computers or printers to communicate with each other as well as share their resources. Finally most routers nowadays provide a firewall, which helps protect your network from outside intrusions by filtering incoming data. Protection and security of your wireless network is vital.

Fortunately, it can be achieved by the average home user with a little bit of know how. Here are some simple steps that you can do to help protect your wireless home network form hackers and keep your personal data secure. As you follow the directions provided with your router you will come across a section, which provides you with the routers user name and password. It is usually marked as admin for the user name and password for, yes you guessed it password. Now this information is publicly known and leaving this information, as its default is the 1st mistake many home users make. Use something original for the user name and password and write it down on a separate piece of paper for your records.

Next, Change the Default SSID. The SSID is a name, which basically identifies your network. Every computer in your network must have the same SSID name. Assign your SSID a name that is familiar to you and write it down for future reference. Now we come to your WLAN security options. This is where people usually make another mistake. I have seen countless WLAN that were using WEP, (wireless equivalent privacy) encryption which is a weak form of encryption. The FBI has recently reported that WEP can be hacked within 3minutes. WPA or the newer WPA 2 provide much stronger security. All wireless network equipments support some kind of encryption. Encryption allows your data to be encrypted before sending it out to the Internet.

The computer, which receives the information, must know how to unscramble the data to read it. You must use the strongest encryption technology that your router and or Network card allows.If you are able to see the options for WPA 2 then that in most cases it is your best bet, however if your computer needs to support older legacy devices then WPA or even WEP might be your only option. I hope this guide has given you a basic understanding of the security that is needed to keep your WLAN safe from outside intrusions.

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Wireless Home Network Security

In order to adequately protect your wireless home network you need to have an awareness of the threats that are out there and what can be done about them. The best ways to ensure your security are by using a legitimate antivirus/anti-spyware program, an effective firewall in your router and setting up wireless encryption on your wireless router.

A wireless network introduces a new level of vulnerability to your privacy through the airwaves. On a wired network a good firewall will stop most Internet hacker attempts and your antivirus program will handle most attempts by trojan viruses to hijack your machine. But now that you've gone wireless your network data is being broadcast through the walls of your house and out onto the street. How do you protect yourself against neighbors who want to surf the Internet on your dime and the geeky teenager with the packet sniffing program next door?

The answer is Wireless Encryption

Before we get into wireless encryption let's make sure your networked computers at least have the basics in terms of protection. Any computer connected to the Internet needs to have:

Antivirus Software

There are tons of scripts, viruses and spyware that can find their way to your computer through emails and downloaded programs which can muck up your operating system and compromise your privacy. A good antivirus program with updated virus definitions will do the trick. This means you have to do more than just purchase and install it. You also have to keep it updated.

Firewall Program

If you have a firewall program such as installed and you take a peak at the logs you may be shocked at the amount of attempts to gain access to your computer from unknown sources. A good firewall program will follow a set of rules to block attempts to gain access or take control over your computer. Many home network routers have a built-in SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewall functionality which you will also want to take advantage of.

Anti Spyware

Spyware actually falls under a different category than viruses. While a virus is designed to do wreak havoc on your Operating System malware is more insidious and seeks to operate behind the scenes undetected. Many spyware programs exist just to collect data about you and your surfing habits and send that information back to who ever launched it as market research information. While your operating system may still function normally you will notice slowness and erratic behavior of some programs over time.

Windows Updates

Microsoft regularly publishes new vulnerabilities that have been discovered in their operating systems and patches needed to fix them. Turning your Microsoft updates to automatic will make the process of keeping your system updated almost unnoticeable except for the occasional forced reboot.

Wireless Encryption

So you've set up a home network using all the steps mentioned above to secure it. Right? Good. If you want to go wireless you also need to consider wireless encryption. If you don't you might as well be installing network jacks into the curb on the street in front of your home to give passerby's access to your network any time they want it.

The developers of the 802.11 standard were aware of this threat to consumer privacy early on so they designed a system of encrypting data that makes a wireless network just as secure as a wired network. They called it WEP or Wired Equivalent Privacy. WEP worked fine for a while but the way it was designed combined with increasing computer speeds made it easier to decode and decipher the WEP Key. Once someone in a car out on the street has your WEP key they may as well be sitting in your living room or watching over your shoulder.

As a result of the need for a newer, stronger encryption method WPA or Wi-Fi Protected Access was developed. Not only is WPA more secure it's more user-friendly. A plain text pass phrase is all that's needed to secure your devices. The ugly hexadecimal keys of WEP are gone. The major improvement of WPA over WEP is the patterns of encryption it uses are much more random and the key actually changes according to a time frame you can specify! WPA has a new big brother called WPA2 which uses the advanced AES method of encryption. While WEP can be cracked in a few hours WPA2 and AES has yet to be cracked.

The safeguards mentioned here are all very common and easy to come by. Excellent Internet Security Suites are now available in most electronics stores. Virtually all routers come with built-in SPI firewalls and manufacturers of network devices have made great strides to make setting up wireless encryption on your wireless network as easy as possible. By following the guidelines in this article and technology that's available you should have no trouble securing your wireless home network.

Setting Up A Wireless Network?

J Richard Jones has been supporting computers and networks for over 15 years. Visit his site to learn more about setting up a wireless network.

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Setting Up a Secure Wireless Network (PART 2)

In part one I explained why you need to secure your wireless network. I'm glad you came back to part two. Let's get started. I am going to use a Buffalo Nfinity wireless router for this demonstration. The thing to remember is that what I am going to show you here can be done on any wireless router. You may have to check your documentation to find where the settings are for what you are trying to accomplish in the web interface of your router.

Note: If this is a used router the first thing you need to do is reset it. Find the documentation for detailed instructions on doing this. It will set your router back to factory defaults. It is usually just a matter of pressing the reset button on the back of the router.

If your router came with a setup disk feel free to use it to set your network up. Once it is complete please continue with this document to make sure it did everything is was suppose to.

DISCLAIMER:

While every reasonable precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, the author is not responsibLE for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. The information contained in this document is believed to be accurate. However, no guarantee is provided. Use this information at your own risk.

The first step is to setup your router. Please follow the getting started documentation that came with your router. If you do not have documentation go to the manufacturer's web site and download it. If you do not want to do that you basically do this. Set the router up and do not plug it in. Unplug the network cable from your computer going to the modem and move it to the router in the port labeled WAN. There will be five ports on the back of your router. This will be the one that is setting by itself. Next, plug an Ethernet cable from any of the four open ports on your router and connect it to your computer.

Just to make sure there are no issues, reboot the modem. After it completely boots plug in the router and let it boot. After about a minute you should be able to access the Internet.

First we need to configure the router. You will need to find the documentation for your router for this next step. You need to find the IP address of the router. All manufacturers have a default IP address for their series of routers. Linksys uses 192.168.1.1, NetGear uses 192.168.0.1 and the default IP Address of the router I am using is 192.168.11.1. If you cannot find the documentation try this. Click on the Start button and then choose Run. Press the Enter key. A DOS window will open. Type ipconfig and press Enter. The ip address of you computer will be displayed. Normally, the IP address of your router will be the same as the first three octets off your IP adress and the final number will be a 1. For example, if your IP address is 192.168.1.2 your router's IP address will be 192.168.1.1. Some routers have the default IP address that ends in 254. If you can't find the IP address of your router, in the DOS window type tracert http://www.google.com and press Enter. The first line will show the IP address of your router.

Open Internet Explorer, or better yet FireFox ,and in the address bar enter the IP address of your router and press Enter. You will be asked for a user name and password. Again, this is in your documentation. If you do not know, or cannot find the documentation go to a site that list the default usernames and passwords for popular routers. Those links are available in this article posted on my site. After successfully passing credentials to the router the configuration interface will display. Let's look at the status of your router. Find a tab or link that shows, your guessed it, the status of your router. The one on my router is labeled System Info. This page shows your IP Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway and the DNS servers. Check out my website posted below and find the article labeled "Understanding the Terminology You will find it in Articles" if you would like to know what all those terms mean. You should see something like this.

You are ready to make your first change. You will set a password on your router. You don't want them to be able to change the settings you are about to make. You should set a fairly strong password, in other words, no words found in the dictionary, a minimum of 8 characters, upper and lower case and at least one number. This will make it secure. To test your password go here and see how strong and see how strong it is. Find the page to set the router password. Mine is Admin Config. You normally cannot change the administrative user name, but you can change the password. Type in your password, then verify it, then press the button to save it.

The next thing you need to do is set the name of your wireless network. This would be changing the field labeled SSID . Mine is in a section labeled Basic Wireless Configuration. Set this to anything you want. You may not want to set it to your last name if you have people around you that may try to crack your network if they know it is yours. I personally do not care about that so I set mine to HAG. Set the name and apply it. The router will reboot and place you back on that screen.

This is the name that will be broadcast to clients looking for a network. If it is secured they will be asked for a key. Without the key they cannot connect to the network. It is more secure to not broadcast your SSID, but that is not part of part one. If you want to strengthen your network just keep reading. For now, just allow the SSID to be broadcast. It will make connecting a client to it much easier if you have not done this before.

The final, but most important, piece of part one. You need to choose an encryption type for your network You will have a large number of choices, way too many to cover here. I will just give you my suggestions, and tell you which ones to not even consider, and why. Find the Wireless Security section of the router web interface. Mine is Wireless Security Settings. Here is where it gets confusing. You may see the terms WEP, WPA, WPA Pre-Shared Key, WPA2, WPA personal, WPA Enterprise, WPA2 Personal, WPA2 Enterprise, TKIP, AES, RADIUS and No Encryption. Which one do you choose? There are going to be a bunch of different opinions on this one. You want to choose the strongest one. This will vary from user to user, and you may have to back the encryption down, but I'll tell you how and why. First, what do all these acronyms stand for? Here we go:


WEP (Wired Equivelancy Privacy)
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)
WPA2 (Version 2 of WPA)
TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Prtotcol)
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service)

Which one(s) to choose:


No Encryption (Answer that one yourself)
WEP (The lease secure. Avoid using it if possible)
WPA (Good)
WPA2 (Best)
TKIP (Good)
AES (Best)

Sounds pretty cut and dry doesn't it? WPA2-AES. That is the first one you will want to try. Here is going to be the problem. If the wireless card you are using does not support it then it simply won't work. If this is the case drop back to WPA2 -TKIP. Does it work? No. Try WPA-AES, then WPA-TKIP, then lastly WEP. You may also see TKIP+AES. This is fine. It will try AES first, if not successful drop back to TKIP automatically. For WPA and WPA2 use the personal settings. Enterprise and RADIUS require other hardware and is meant for what it says, enterprises.

That is only one part of this. The other is the key strength. In WEP you will have a choice of 64 bits 10 hex digits and 128 bit 26 hex digits. What is a hex digit? These are hex digits 0-9 and A-F. Hexadecimal is base 16. If you add the digits between 0-F you will have 16 digits. I got off track there, but if you didn't know, now you do. In WPA and WPA2 you will be presented with either a pass phrase, or shared key. Try to use a minimum of 8 digits, letters, upper/lowercase and words not found in the dictionary, but preferably 20 or more. I use WPA-AES with a 25 digit/character password.

Once you do this you have a secure network. You can now attach a wireless client to it to test it. This test will allow you to see if your network card will support the encryption you chose. If it will not connect start backing the encryption down as described above.

I'm going to show you how to connect using Windows Wireless Network Connection tool. If you are using a third party tool, like Broadcom Wireless Lan tool the Windows tool will not be available. To make it available you need to close the third party tool. Right click on it in the system tray (The tray by the clock) and exit the tool. If this is not available try this:


Right click on My Computer and choose Manage.
Click the plus (+) next to Services and Applications.
Highlight (Click) on Services.
To make it easier to see click on the Standard tab.

Look for the service that is handling your wireless connections. Mine is Broadcom Wireless LAN Tray Service. Right click on it and choose Stop.

Now that you have no services managing your wireless connections, while still in the services window, go down to Wireless Zero Configuration . Right click on it and choose Start. You have now enabled the Wireless Network Connections tool.

Note: When you reboot, or log off, these settings will be lost. If you want to keep them you will have to disable the service for the third party tool and make sure Windows Zero Configuration is set to Automatic.

Right click on the wireless icon in the system tray and choose View Available Wireless Networks.

You will now see all the wireless networks with range of your wireless card. If you live in a well populated neighborhood don't be surprised to see a lot of them. Some of them will probably be unsecured.

Just for the fun of it try to connect to it. You will be informed that you are connecting to an unsecured network. If you click Yes you will be connected to your neighbors network. Disconnect if you do that since we are going to connect you to you secured network. Highlight (Click) on your network and choose Connect.

You will be asked for your network key. Enter the key, press the Tab key, then enter it again. Once you are done click on the Connect button.

You will be connected to your secure network and can now surf the net.

The key word here is You! You are the only one connected to your network.

This concludes PART2 If you would like to strengthen your security please read PART3. I hope to see you there!

A direct link to this article, complete with images and links to the tools mentioned can be found at TechAlternatives

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The Dangers of Unsecured Wireless Networks

In the last few years there has been an explosion of wireless (Wi-Fi) networks in the home. And for good reason: They are inexpensive to implement, avoid the cost and labor of running cable through your walls, allow you to roam merrily around your house and near environs with computer in tow. Plus, they are relatively simple to set up. I say "relatively" because it's far from a matter of commonsense, especially when it comes to setting up wireless home networks "properly."

You can get a home wireless network running in a basic way- to access the Internet--by simply hooking up the cables that came with the wireless router device. This is what a lot of people do, and it usually works. But what many people neglect to do is set up wireless security, and this is an extremely risky oversight. In this article I'll explain why.

You Can Get "WarChalked"

"WarChalking" is geek-speak for someone piggybacking or freeloading on someone else's wireless Internet connection, without that person's knowledge or consent.

If you have an unsecured wireless network this is the least that could happen. Your neighbor might be getting free Internet access by connecting to your unsecured broadband router. There is nothing to prevent this from happening if you have not set up your wireless security. At the very least this practice of leaching on someone else's Internet connection can drain the victim's bandwidth, causing sluggish downloads or surfing. If enough people tap into your wireless network your Internet connection could slow down to a crawl.

Your Computer Can Get Hacked

Having an unsecured wireless network can also allow people unauthorized access into your computer and private data. It opens up a "backdoor" even if your network is otherwise protected behind a firewall. Connecting wirelessly to your Internet gateway device (i.e., your Cox, Comcast, or Qwest modem) puts an unauthorized user on the "inside" of your network, just as if they snuck into your house and hooked up to your network with an Ethernet cable.

Pretty scary, right? It gets much worse.

Your Private Information or Identity Can Be Stolen

If you purchase anything online you need to submit very personal information to the website selling the product or service: information like credit card numbers, social security numbers, bank account numbers, usernames and passwords, etc.

Even if the website in question encrypts your private information during the submission process, there's little to prevent an eavesdropper from snooping in on the transaction or installing software on your computer that logs your every keystroke.

Your Home Network Can Be Used to Mask Someone Else's Illegal Activity

Every wireless home network (or more accurately, every wireless gateway device) will have a unique address traceable to its owner and his or her household. This is called an "IP Address"-let's say 71.33.56.166. This number uniquely identifies your home network from the countless others in the world. No two are ever the same.

This IP Address is unique for many reasons, and one reason is that it allows certain authorities to trace online activities back to the individual, household, or company from which those activities originated. Even though you may feel anonymous when you're surfing the Web, you really are not. Any webserver or Internet Service Provider can keep a log that records your IP Address, among other information about your computer and software.

Now, this doesn't bother most people, unless they're privacy advocates, because they're not doing anything criminal on the Internet. But it's a big problem for those who are committing crimes on the Web. How can they get around this?

They can tap into an unsecured wireless network in the neighborhood. This makes it very easy for them to get around being identified by the proper authorities. Why? Because it is you and your home network that will be identified instead! It's your IP Address that will be recorded.

Not many people want to get their doors kicked in by the FBI during a predawn raid due to someone else's Internet activities. Someone could be using your wireless network to download or distribute child pornography, hack into corporate networks, or to commit credit card fraud.

Okay, Now I'm Scared. What Can I Do To Prevent This?

The quick and easy way is to hire a professional computer or network technician to secure your wireless network for you, or at least verify that you have done it properly.

Each wireless router or gateway device can be different when it comes to how to set up its security. The device should come with instructions from the manufacturer or your ISP.

The most important thing is to set up the WEP or Wireless Encryption Protocol. WEP is what encrypts the data stream between your computer and whatever webserver on the Internet you are connecting to, preventing unauthorized interlopers from eavesdropping on your online activities, credit card transactions, and the like.

Just as importantly, it also prevents unauthorized individuals from connecting to your wireless network, either to piggyback on your Internet connection for free or to conceal their identities behind your own. They must have the encryption key to connect.

There are also additional measures you can take to protect your wireless network. For example, you can disable the feature that broadcasts your wireless network ID, for all practical purposes making your wireless network invisible to your neighbors. This is a smart thing to do but is often overlooked.

Chris Brehm
Tucson Computer Repair Service
Chris@Smbaz.com
http://www.TucsonComputerRepairService.com

Wireless Networking and Security

Although Wireless Networking has great benefits, which are undoubtedly, there are also some drawbacks, which should be considered. Drawbacks such as Electromagnetic interferences, a slower transfer speed then wired Networks and diverse security concerns. This paper will focus on Wireless Networks and the security concern that we have or should have when implementing such technology.

As a general note there are two types of wireless computer networks.

1) Ad hoc network is established when wireless communication exist directly from computer to computer.

2) Infrastructure Networks are distinguished by the use of an access point. Every communication in a Infrastructure Network goes over a access point.

The good news is Wireless Access Points have a security feature which is called WEP.

It uses an encryption algorithm named RC4. This is a symmetric stream cipher and it can

use two types of encryption keys. 64 Bit and 128 Bit. The WEP encryption serves two main purposes authentication and data encryption. With out data encryption everything transmitted from a computer and everything received would be transmitted in clear text. This means that while data is traveling from one point to the next over a radio wave frequency, it can easily be intercepted and viewed by an unknown third party. Without WEP there is also no authentication for who logs on to the wireless computer or Network, allowing anyone in near distance who can receive the wireless signal to utilize the wireless network for his/her own purpose.

Most vendors who provide wireless equipment don't set the wireless devices to use WEP by default. If no one specifically takes his/her time to set up the WEP security features they are not activated, and at this point the wireless network has no security at all. Leaving your Home or Business Network open for the rest of the world. To make my point it is really a necessity to set up WEP and to set it up correctly. My recommendation would be to use the 128 Bit key on any wireless network. In a professional Business environment as well as at your private residence. Hot spots are very popular and can be found in Airports, Train stations, Hotels, Coffeehouses, Libraries and many other public places. Some are freely available and others require a membership or a fee to access and utilize. These hotspots provide internet access on very flexible terms and they have become widely available in the United States. When using hotspots specifically the freely available one's I do recommend to research if they provide any means of Data encryption to safeguard your data and privacy.

Although WEP encryption provides some degree of security and privacy it is not flawless

And can be broken with certain tools within only a few hours. These tools are easy to use and available to download on the World Wide Web. Therefore WEP by itself cannot be considered a secure solution for your wireless network, it is well suited for most users At there residence that want some degree of security and privacy but really don't have any information on their computers or network which must be safeguarded. For professional Business environments and anyone else who does not fit into the first category WEP by itself is not sufficient to protect your data. There are several other steps, which should be performed in order to safeguard your data. SSID Broadcast should be disabled, Static ip addresses should be assigned and DHCP disabled. These additional settings will help camouflage your wireless network from prying eyes of neighbors, Business competitors, and malicious Intruders.

We hope this white paper has helped some of you who have wireless networks to better understand some of the steps involved in properly securing your network and systems.

For any further questions, ideas and concerns which you may have

Please feel free to contact me.

Andrew Mapp, President

Three Square Business Solutions

[http://threesquaresolutions.com]

MCSA, Security+, CEH, CCFS

This article may only be redistributed or syndicated in its original format including the authors signature (name, company, website).

Protect Your Wireless Network - Lock Down Your Wireless Router

Do you use a wireless network at home to connect to the internet? Do you know whether or not others are connecting to your wireless network without your knowledge? You must protect your wireless network from unauthorized users logging on to the internet through your wireless router. There are multiple ways in which to do this and by following a few simple rules, you can also be comfortable in the fact that your internet connection is safe.

Why should you secure your wireless router?
One of the biggest reasons to secure your wireless router is so that you know exactly who is able to connect to your internet connection and your network. Do you bank online? If a hacker can get his cyber-foot in the door through your wireless router, he can then infect any computer system on your network and steal information such as credit card numbers and online banking usernames and passwords.

Let's say that you do not bank online and don't use your computer for anything other than surfing the internet. If anyone can connect to the wireless router and gain internet access, they can look at and access just about anything. If this person is doing something illegal, the FBI will be knocking on your door and not theirs because the illegal activity came from your specific internet connection.

What can you do to protect your wireless network?
The very first thing that you should do is to enable the encryption over your wireless connection. Currently there are 2 standards of encryption. These are WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) or WPA (Wifi Protected Access). WEP is a weaker encryption and for the experienced hacker is easily broken. However if your wireless router does not support WPA (common in older wireless routers), WEP will keep you safe from the casual computer user leeching off of your internet access. You should check the manual for your specific router for instructions on how to do this. They can almost always be found on the manufacturer's website.

Another option that you can use is to enable MAC filtering. A MAC address is like a serial number hard coded into all network devices. When MAC filtering is enabled it only allows the mac addresses of specific devices to connect to your router. Short of someone gaining physical access to the router it is highly unlikely that anyone will be able to connect to your wireless router with this option enabled and configured.

Jake Smith is a Network Analyst for a financial institution. He currently holds 3 associates degrees in Web Design, Network/Information Security, and Network Support. He has over 5 years of professional experience working with computers and networking equipment. He is currently pursuing a Bachelors of Arts and Applied Sciences in Business Administration. For more information on securing your home and business computers please visit http://www.it-secured.com

Broadband - How To Secure Your Wireless Network

It wasn't all that long ago when personal computers where restricted for offices and wealthy households. Moreover, computer networks where practically unheard of in residential settings, such technology was reserved for large office buildings - things however, have progressed considerably over the years.

One of the most common methods to share a broadband connection within homes and offices today is using wireless technologies.

Although such technology has revolutionised the way people can access networks and the internet it does have a major disadvantage, one that was not prevalent with coaxial cables or the more familiar CAT5 network cable; this being security.

The technology that comprises a wireless network usually consists of a wireless router; wireless receivers (generally USB dongles or built in antennas); and in some cases one or more repeaters (if the signal needs to span an exceptionally long distance).

Once set up, the wireless router will happily start broadcasting and accepting information within a certain radius. This essentially means that your next door neighbour (or anyone in range!) could be accessing your network, and leaching your internet connection - which as well as invading your privacy could be costing you money if you have a broadband usage allowance.

So, the first line of defence is to familiarise yourself with your network and your routers configuration options, which are usually accessed via a browser window

Router manufactures tend to apply the same SSID (the networks name) and login details for all of their routers, so to begin with, changing these to something more personal is the first line of defence.

Following this you should apply some form of encryption, the popular choice being WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), the later of which is the most secure. This involves applying a specific "key" that any computer attempting to access your router will need to input.

Lastly, possibly one of the best ways to ensure only devices of your choice have access to your router is to establish MAC filtering. MAC or Media Access Control is a unique code given to every physical network device.

Therefore, finding out the MAC code for each device in your network (this can prove difficult to the untrained so referring to the manufactures manual is recommended) and inputting only these addresses on your MAC filter list will ensure only they will have access.

In conclusion, securing your wireless broadband network is relatively easy, with a wealth of broadband sites out there offering helpful information and guides you're never far from help. Such sites often allow you to compare broadband packages, as well as offering expert help.

Why Have a Wireless Network in Your Home?

If you have one or more computers in your home then you can benefit from a wireless network in a number of ways.

Today it is not uncommon for every person in the household to have their own laptop, notebook or desktop computer. Children use them as an educational tool and mom and dad often bring their laptop home from work.

The biggest advantage to setting up a wireless network is to eliminate some of the tangle mess of wires associated with each computer.

A simple definition of wireless is that it offers a communication method for the transfer of information over a long or short distance without the use of wires. But that doesn't happen magically. Wireless adapters (either built-in or attached) are required for each computer and then generally a router is used at the internet access point.

Even though this article is specific to wireless computer networks, many people already use wireless in the home for such things as cell phones, baby monitors and security systems.

Beyond the elimination of wires there are few other ways that a wireless computer network can make your life easier.

Save money by sharing just one printer with everyone
Be free to use your computer on the deck, in the kitchen or anywhere else inside or outside of your home
Save money by sharing one backup device with everyone
Perhaps you have a temporary health problem which requires you to be bedridden, but you would still like to get some work or other things done on your computer while somewhat out of commission
It is much easier to share files with others on the network
If our Laptop has a wireless adapter then you will be able to take advantage of free wi-fi at the library, coffee shop, in the airport terminal and at a friends house
You will also be able to take advantage of the newest and latest wireless technology found in digital cameras, video cameras and multi-media receivers

Setting up a wireless network is not complex but be sure that you review and setup the proper security for your network in order to keep others outside your home from also using your network. They may join you unintentionally. Just the other night I was using my laptop just to do a little offline work and all of a sudden my computer was connecting to the network. As it turns out my neighbor across the street from me had just cranked up her wireless system and I was automatically connected to it. She had not properly setup her wireless router security.

Don't fear, your network will be secure if you setup your security properly.

To learn more visit Wireless Laptop Computers and while you are there check out how to setup a home network using Wireless Network Routers.

How to Make Your Wireless Network (Wi-Fi) Hacker-Proof

Security has become second nature to people over the years, whether it be your home, car, or personal belongings. Our computers are no exception to this, as digital thieves are lurking everywhere, and can be almost impossible to detect by the average computer user. Preventing unauthorized access to your wireless home or business network (Wi-Fi) is an extremely important measure to take, as a hacker doesn't need to know you personally to target you, and they can be in a house or apartment nearby, or even parked in a car on the street. Wi-Fi hackers have been known to drive around neighborhoods searching for wireless networks in people's homes, gain access through various unlocked doors in a wireless router's configuration, and then have a field day with your information. In this article, we will go step by step through the different configurations of your wireless router that leave your network vulnerable, and what to change to make your network virtually hacker proof.

Step 1: The first thing that we have to do is login to our router's configuration utility. To do so, you must first figure out what your gateway's IP address is. You can do this by going to Start > Run and typing in CMD. This will open a session of command prompt. In command prompt, type 'ipconfig' without the quotations, and press enter. If done while connected to your network, this will return several different numbers. The one we need is listed as "Default Gateway". Take the IP address listed as "Default Gateway" and write it down, or copy it. If you're not familiar with IP addresses, it is a series of numbers separated by periods like this: 192.168.1.1 In fact, this particular IP address I just used as an example is the most common gateway, but yours may be listed as something different. Now, with this IP address copied, open a web browser such as internet explorer or Firefox, and paste or type the IP address exactly as it shows into the address bar and press enter. This will bring up the login page for your router. If you know your login details enter them here, if not, you will have to find the manufacturer's User ID and password for your router. You can find this in the manual that came with the router, or by going to the manufacturer's website and searching for the manual under the router's model number (this can be found on a sticker on the back, side, or bottom of the router.) You can first try common ones like "admin" for the User ID, and "password" for the password, or "admin" for both User ID and password. If these don't work, refer to the manufacturer's manual for the User ID and password. If you set up your own User ID and password and forgot them, or the manufacturer's default User ID and password are not working, if other people in your home have access to the router or it had a previous owner, the default User ID and password may have been changed. In such a case you can reset them back to the defaults by pressing and holding the reset button on the back of the router for at least 5 seconds. Now you can login using the default User ID and password set by the manufacturer.

Step 2: Change your User ID and password if they are set to the manufacturer's defaults. If someone gains access to your wireless network, they can easily log into your router's settings and change them to their liking.

Step 3: Change your SSID. Your SSID is the name that you see for your wireless network when you search for open networks using a Wi-Fi enabled device. If the SSID is set to the manufacturer's default, anyone searching for an open network nearby can see yours, and with a little searching on the internet they can figure out the model number of your router which will help them gain access to your router's settings.

Step 4: Disable broadcasting of your SSID. Broadcasting of an SSID is simply how when you search for open networks in an area, the names of open networks will show on your device. If you disable broadcasting of your SSID, when people search for open networks, yours will not even show up, so essentially, they will not know your wireless network even exists. You will still be able to connect to your network by typing your SSID into your Wi-Fi enabled devices manually.

Step 5: If available, enable WPA2 encryption. If WPA2 is not available, enable WPA encryption. If neither is available and only WEP is available, search your router's manual or website for information on updating your router's firmware. An update for your router may include support for WPA or WPA2 encryption. If no update is available to your current router, you may consider buying a new router as yours is likely very outdated. WPA2 encryption is ideal as it is much more secure than WPA and especially WEP.

Step 6: Setup a Pre-Shared Key or PSK or Network Key. Whatever your router calls it, this is the "password" to your network. This is not to be confused with the password that we changed in step 2 for your router. Your Pre-Shared Key that you setup should be impossible to guess, and should include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. It is very important to include all of these to make it almost impossible to crack, but don't make it so long that it takes you 5 minutes to enter it into every device. If it is difficult to remember, you can always look it up whenever you need by logging into your router's settings again.

Step 7: Enable MAC Address Filtering or MAC Address Authentication. This step is optional, and should only be performed if you do not have visitors that use your Wi-Fi, or if the devices that use your Wi-Fi are consistently the same devices. A MAC Address is basically an ID that every internet or network enabled device has that looks something like this: 00:20:e0:00:41:00. Every device ever created has a unique MAC address so that they can be properly identified on a network as an individual. Using MAC Address Filtering or Authentication only allows the specific devices that you select to connect to your wireless network. Any outside devices will not be able to connect because their MAC Address will not be in the list you create of allowable devices. To add your Wi-Fi enabled devices to access list, you first need to obtain the MAC Address of each device. For computers and laptops, you can simply go to Start > Run and type 'CMD' without quotation marks. This will bring up a Command Prompt window. Then type in 'ipconfig /all' without quotation marks, and press enter. Something saying "Physical Address" should be listed somewhere near the top. Next to it you will see your computer's MAC Address. It may be listed with hyphens in between every 2 characters instead of colons like in the example above. This is okay, just make sure when you enter the MAC Address into the access list that you do it in the format required by your router, so you may need to change all hyphens into colons. Do this for all computers connecting your wireless network. For devices such as IPods, IPads, cell phones, etc., you will have to search for your device information most likely in the Setup menu (or it may be somewhere else depending on the device). Here, if it is a Wi-Fi enabled device, you will find the MAC Address. Do this for all non-computer devices that connect to your wireless network and add them each to your access list. Don't forget, every time you purchase a new device or someone visits and wants to use your Wi-Fi, you will have to perform this step.

It is important to perform all steps to properly secure your wireless network, except for the optional step #7. There are other security measures that can be implemented, however the above steps are the most important, and most necessary to prevent unauthorized access to your wireless network. If you completed all of the steps listed in this tutorial, you can feel confident that your wireless network is now virtually impenetrable.

Jesse Pierce works as a computer repair technician for RI Computer Repair.

An Open Door To Your Home Wireless Internet Network Security?

This is not some new fangled techno-speak, it is a real tool to be used for the protection of your wireless internet network and LAN. African American SMBs have to realize that if your Internet connection is on 24/7 then your network, and it is a network that your computer is connected to, is at risk. Any business that uses the Internet to share or exchange information, news, or ideas with clients, vendors, partners, or other locations look in the reflection of your monitor and realize that your business is an unintentional (or intentional) target.

You should already be aware of all the thousands of bugs, viruses, denial of service attacks and other unfriendly items that lurk on the internet and virtually try attacking every second. It's like having a screen door on your most valuable assets. Let's not repeat what you know about, let's look at a larger picture that should concern everyone - the unknown. There are attacks that go unreported for various reasons, these are the ones that the major software and hardware vendors have no clue about and can only warn you after an attack is reported.

If your files, email, identity, client or product information are important to your African American business and you cannot afford a network being down for 24 hours. Then a firewall is what should be between the internet and everything else. You need to expect an intrusion if you have a small amount or no network protection. Hackers have tools that search the Internet 24/7 looking for a vulnerable point to destroy. Overzealous marketers use similar tools to harvest information to use for spamming and unfortunately no one currently calls that a crime that we know as identity theft.

You have a deadbolt and a door lock on your front door and some even have a home security system in place. Why have a screen door latch on your home computer network, when you know there are people trying that door 24/7?

If you want to put a digital rottweiler between your home wireless network and hackers, marketers and other cyber-vandals then evaluate a strong firewall for your African American business.

Don't have the time or resources to get your home wireless network protected and need a African American Wireless Solution Provider partner to be there for you? We can help give you your freedom back...and a whole lot more. M.D.T.G.

Daviyd Peterson: 12-year consultant, instructor, trainer of digital divide solutions for home and business. Helps African American and minority homeschools bridge the digital divide by becoming computer homeschools. Supporting homeschool moms and dads with resources to provide income for their homeschool...

http://www.daviydthepencilpusher.wordpress.com

daviyd@bluebottle.com

Protect Your Wireless Network - Lock Down Your Wireless Router

Do you use a wireless network at home to connect to the internet? Do you know whether or not others are connecting to your wireless network without your knowledge? You must protect your wireless network from unauthorized users logging on to the internet through your wireless router. There are multiple ways in which to do this and by following a few simple rules, you can also be comfortable in the fact that your internet connection is safe.

Why should you secure your wireless router?
One of the biggest reasons to secure your wireless router is so that you know exactly who is able to connect to your internet connection and your network. Do you bank online? If a hacker can get his cyber-foot in the door through your wireless router, he can then infect any computer system on your network and steal information such as credit card numbers and online banking usernames and passwords.

Let's say that you do not bank online and don't use your computer for anything other than surfing the internet. If anyone can connect to the wireless router and gain internet access, they can look at and access just about anything. If this person is doing something illegal, the FBI will be knocking on your door and not theirs because the illegal activity came from your specific internet connection.

What can you do to protect your wireless network?
The very first thing that you should do is to enable the encryption over your wireless connection. Currently there are 2 standards of encryption. These are WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) or WPA (Wifi Protected Access). WEP is a weaker encryption and for the experienced hacker is easily broken. However if your wireless router does not support WPA (common in older wireless routers), WEP will keep you safe from the casual computer user leeching off of your internet access. You should check the manual for your specific router for instructions on how to do this. They can almost always be found on the manufacturer's website.

Another option that you can use is to enable MAC filtering. A MAC address is like a serial number hard coded into all network devices. When MAC filtering is enabled it only allows the mac addresses of specific devices to connect to your router. Short of someone gaining physical access to the router it is highly unlikely that anyone will be able to connect to your wireless router with this option enabled and configured.

Jake Smith is a Network Analyst for a financial institution. He currently holds 3 associates degrees in Web Design, Network/Information Security, and Network Support. He has over 5 years of professional experience working with computers and networking equipment. He is currently pursuing a Bachelors of Arts and Applied Sciences in Business Administration. For more information on securing your home and business computers please visit http://www.it-secured.com

UAVs Hacking Wireless Networks - Latest Threat, Military Strategy, or Surveillance Tool?

At the famous hacker convention in Las Vegas, some of the computer security industry professionals there have created a UAV which can fly around and break into computer systems via their wireless connections. Is this a new scheme? Is this an innovative idea? I would submit to you that it's not a new original thought, as I had written an article about this a year or so ago on such a concept, and there are old tales of UFOs flying over missile silos containing ICBMs during the Cold War, and shutting down the entire system.

Yes I know, talking about UFOs, or unidentified flying objects, seems a little bizarre. But, whether or not those stories are true, hardly matters, because the stories go back to the 1970s and really this new hacking technique, which will probably be used by the US military is not a new thought, we can trace its origins back over four decades. Nevertheless, it is interesting new technology, and perhaps we should discuss this.

There was an interesting article in Physorg [dot] com recently on August 6, 2011 titled; "Hacker drone launches airborne cyber attacks," written by Glenn Chapman which stated;

"Computer security specialists built a small MAV drone aircraft that can launch airborne cyber attacks, hijacking mobile phone calls, or even delivering a dirty bomb. It is loaded with software to attack Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GSM cell networks. The MAV grabs packets of data sent on wireless networks or unsecured hot spots as gateways to get in to computer systems. It can get GMS mobile phone IDs used to bill outgoing calls. Hackers can impersonate cell phone towers and eavesdrop on people's calls."

Perhaps, this is a good reason for people to secure their Wi-Fi at home, or in their businesses, and not leave open networks, because hackers can break in. It's also a good reason for government computer systems, and large corporations to think twice about having any sort of wireless communication too accessible, or allowing too much information to flow through them, which is of high value, proprietary, secret, or involving financial transactions.

We've always known that someone can park a Van near a Wi-Fi connection, and attempt to break into the computer system. In Silicon Valley there were computer professionals which did this quite often to test the security of various corporations. Flying a small model airplane or micro air vehicle, or even a military UAV over a location to get into the system might indeed help the cyber warfare division of the US military. We can also expect that our enemies will try to do this to us too, and unfortunately we can also expect criminal hackers to try to break into our personal information in this way.

Indeed, just when you thought it was safe to use your mobile phone, Wi-Fi, or wireless network - someone has invented a new way to get in. Be careful out there folks, indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it when you are devising a strategy for Internet security and safe mobile phone transactions.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 24,444 articles by September 4th at 4:44 PM will be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..

Enable Wireless Encryption

It is very convenient to be able to sit across the house from the wireless access point or router and be connected to the Internet while sitting on the couch or lounging in bed. You always need to keep in mind though that your data is being beamed through the airwaves in all directions and that if you can receive it from where you are, so can just about anyone else within that same range.

In order to protect your data from snooping or prying eyes, you should encrypt, or scramble, it so that nobody else can read it. Most recent wireless equipment comes with both WEP (wired equivalent privacy) and WPA (wifi protected access) encryption schemes that you can enable.

WEP was the encryption scheme included with the first generation of wireless networking equipment. It was found to contain some serious flaws which make it relatively easy to crack, or break into, so it is not the best form of security for your wireless network.

WPA was later rolled out to provide significantly stronger wireless data encryption than WEP. But, in order to use WPA, all of the devices communicating on the network need to be configured for WPA. If any of the devices in the chain of communication are configured for WEP, the WPA devices will typically fall back to the lesser encryption so that all of the devices can still communicate.

Refer to the owner's manual for your wireless router or access point to determine how to enable and configure encryption for your device. Once you enable encryption on your router or access point, you will need to configure your wireless network devices with the proper information to access the network.

If you can use WPA you should because it is much more secure. However, even WEP is better than nothing and will keep casual snoopers and novice hackers out of your wireless network. Using encryption with a longer key length will provide stronger security, but with a slight performance impact.

View the original article here

Free Wireless Security Tools

NetStumbler
NetStumbler displays wireless access points, SSIDs, channels, whether WEP encryption is enabled and signal strength. NetStumbler can connect with GPS technology to accurately log the precise location of access points.

MiniStumbler
A smaller version of NetStumbler designed to work on PocketPC 3.0 and PocketPC 2002 platforms. It provides support for ARM, MIPS and SH3 CPU types.

WEPCrack
WEPCrack was the first of the WEP encryption cracking utilities. WEPCrack is an open-source tool used to break 802.11 WEP keys. You can also download WEPCrack for Linux.

Airsnort
Airsnort is a wireless LAN (WLAN) tool which cracks WEP encryption keys. AirSnort passively monitors wireless transmissions and automatically computes the encryption key when enough packets have been gathered.

BTScanner
Btscanner allows you to extract as much information as possible from a Bluetooth device without the requirement to pair. It extracts HCI and SDP information, and maintains an open connection to monitor the RSSI and link quality.

FakeAP
The polar opposite of hiding your network by disabling SSID broadcasts- Black Alchemy's Fake AP generates thousands of counterfeit 802.11b access points. As part of a honeypot or as an instrument of your site security plan, Fake AP confuses Wardrivers, NetStumblers, Script Kiddies, and other scanners.

Kismet
Kismet is an 802.11 wireless network detector, sniffer, and intrusion detection system. Kismet identifies networks by passively collecting packets and detecting standard named networks, detecting (and given time, decloaking) hidden networks, and inferring the presence of nonbeaconing networks via data traffic.

Redfang
Redfang v2.5 is an enhanced version from @Stake of the original Redfang application that finds non-discoverable Bluetooth devices by brute-forcing the last six bytes of the device's Bluetooth address and doing a read_remote_name().

SSID Sniff
A tool to use when looking to discover access points and save captured traffic. Comes with a configured script and supports Cisco Aironet and random prism2 based cards.

WiFi Scanner
WifiScanner analyzes traffic and detects 802.11b stations and access points. It can listen alternatively on all 14 channels, write packet information in real time, search access points and associated client stations. All network traffic may be saved in the libpcap format for post analysis.

wIDS
wIDS is a wireless IDS. It detects the jamming of management frames and could be used as a wireless honeypot. Data frames can also be decrypted on the fly and re-injected onto another device.

WIDZ
WIDZ is a proof of concept IDS system for 802.11 wireless networks. It guards access points (AP's) and monitors local frequencies for malicious activity. It detects scans, association floods, and bogus/Rogue AP's. It can also be integrated with SNORT or RealSecure.

View the original article here

IP Changer For Enhanced Wired and Wireless Network Security

IP Changer Software is a new technology that can significantly enhance your security and privacy when browsing the internet over wired or wireless networks at home or office. This article will show why network security, particularly wireless network security is important, what security measures are recommended and how these can be augmented by frequent IP change with the help of an IP Changer.

With the advent of widespread availability of broad band Internet services use of Internet at home, school and work has become ubiquitous. At the same time this has introduced various security challenges primarily from hackers, computer viruses, spy ware and malware. Networking of computers and peripherals at offices reduces costs and increases productivity. In the beginning networking was mostly wired. This limited its use at home. But with the introduction of wireless networking it is now commonplace and standard to have a home networking system. These systems are inexpensive, easy to deploy and essential if you want to use lap tops at home or office. It is extremely convenient to connect to the Internet and other peripheral devices whether you are at home or office.

However, wireless networks are inherently unsafe because the Internet connection is through the airwaves. Unless the connection is thoroughly secured you run the risk of being hacked and your sensitive, private financial and personal data being stolen. You can be victim of identity theft and run the risk of serious financial, medical and criminal consequences.

At the center of a network is a router that broadcasts the wireless signal. If it is not secured the unauthorized users or Cyber Crooks can connect to it. Not only can they get a free Internet connection, but they will sap the bandwidth and thus slow your connection. Even worse they can get access to your computer and steal your sensitive information. It is the router that assigns unique IP address to each computer device on the network. Therefore it is the most vulnerable part of the network. It is paramount therefore to have a secure network and be able to hide your identity tag the IP address.

There are several security measures one must take to have secure wired and wireless networks. The basic security features include ENCRYPTION using either the older less secure WEP or newer more secure WEPA and WPA2 methods. Encryption is the method that scrambles the signal sent from a computer to the wireless router of the network and vice-versa. Without encryption, the words sent over the wireless connection are transparent and anyone can intercept the signal and read it. But with encryption it is very hard to decipher. There is additional security because the connection is password protected (Network Key or WPA key).

The network connection is further secured by controlling at MAC (Media Access Control) address level. MAC address is a unique identification number of each wireless adapter.

Other security tips include, disabling SSID (Service Set Identifier) broadcast,enabling MAC filtering, disabling DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), enabling security features of router, enabling logging on, changing default pass word and settings, frequently changing the passwords, using strong passwords, enabling HTTPS, turning off the router or client machines when not in use and keeping the software (firmware) of the router up to date.

After taking all these steps you will have a reasonably secure network. However, you have to remember three things. One, in spite of these elaborate security measures you do not have fool proof security, second, your data over the Internet is not encrypted and thus not secure and last but not least your IP address is still transparent over the Internet. IP short for Internet Protocol Address that is provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a six digit number that is unique to your computer and identifies your computer and your location on the Internet. If hidden it will tremendously enhance your security over the net. If hackers do not get access to your IP address they cannot penetrate the security of your network and the computer.

This can be achieved by frequent IP Change by directing your internet connection through a number of servers with their own IP addresses and located at distant multiple locations. The software that allows us to do this is called the IP Changer. Furthermore, this software comes with 128 bit or higher encryption capability. As a result all your data is transmitted in highly secure and encrypted form.

By using this software to Change IP frequently your actual IP address is effectively hidden while rest can see only one of the many IP addresses the IP Changer presents at a given time. In this way you surf anonymously and your wired and wireless connections are secured above and beyond the regular security measures discussed above.

So if you are using an IP Changer with your wired or wireless networks you will be surfing with much enhanced safety and security, protecting your sensitive data, identity and privacy on the internet while enjoying the convenience of wireless networking.

Having learnt some important information about a new technology that uses and Privacy Software to make wired and wireless networks safer and more secure go to http://www.privacypartners.com to get an in depth information about the technology and systems that will best help you to enhance the security of your networks.

IP Changer For Enhanced Wired and Wireless Network Security

IP Changer Software is a new technology that can significantly enhance your security and privacy when browsing the internet over wired or wireless networks at home or office. This article will show why network security, particularly wireless network security is important, what security measures are recommended and how these can be augmented by frequent IP change with the help of an IP Changer.

With the advent of widespread availability of broad band Internet services use of Internet at home, school and work has become ubiquitous. At the same time this has introduced various security challenges primarily from hackers, computer viruses, spy ware and malware. Networking of computers and peripherals at offices reduces costs and increases productivity. In the beginning networking was mostly wired. This limited its use at home. But with the introduction of wireless networking it is now commonplace and standard to have a home networking system. These systems are inexpensive, easy to deploy and essential if you want to use lap tops at home or office. It is extremely convenient to connect to the Internet and other peripheral devices whether you are at home or office.

However, wireless networks are inherently unsafe because the Internet connection is through the airwaves. Unless the connection is thoroughly secured you run the risk of being hacked and your sensitive, private financial and personal data being stolen. You can be victim of identity theft and run the risk of serious financial, medical and criminal consequences.

At the center of a network is a router that broadcasts the wireless signal. If it is not secured the unauthorized users or Cyber Crooks can connect to it. Not only can they get a free Internet connection, but they will sap the bandwidth and thus slow your connection. Even worse they can get access to your computer and steal your sensitive information. It is the router that assigns unique IP address to each computer device on the network. Therefore it is the most vulnerable part of the network. It is paramount therefore to have a secure network and be able to hide your identity tag the IP address.

There are several security measures one must take to have secure wired and wireless networks. The basic security features include ENCRYPTION using either the older less secure WEP or newer more secure WEPA and WPA2 methods. Encryption is the method that scrambles the signal sent from a computer to the wireless router of the network and vice-versa. Without encryption, the words sent over the wireless connection are transparent and anyone can intercept the signal and read it. But with encryption it is very hard to decipher. There is additional security because the connection is password protected (Network Key or WPA key).

The network connection is further secured by controlling at MAC (Media Access Control) address level. MAC address is a unique identification number of each wireless adapter.

Other security tips include, disabling SSID (Service Set Identifier) broadcast,enabling MAC filtering, disabling DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), enabling security features of router, enabling logging on, changing default pass word and settings, frequently changing the passwords, using strong passwords, enabling HTTPS, turning off the router or client machines when not in use and keeping the software (firmware) of the router up to date.

After taking all these steps you will have a reasonably secure network. However, you have to remember three things. One, in spite of these elaborate security measures you do not have fool proof security, second, your data over the Internet is not encrypted and thus not secure and last but not least your IP address is still transparent over the Internet. IP short for Internet Protocol Address that is provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a six digit number that is unique to your computer and identifies your computer and your location on the Internet. If hidden it will tremendously enhance your security over the net. If hackers do not get access to your IP address they cannot penetrate the security of your network and the computer.

This can be achieved by frequent IP Change by directing your internet connection through a number of servers with their own IP addresses and located at distant multiple locations. The software that allows us to do this is called the IP Changer. Furthermore, this software comes with 128 bit or higher encryption capability. As a result all your data is transmitted in highly secure and encrypted form.

By using this software to Change IP frequently your actual IP address is effectively hidden while rest can see only one of the many IP addresses the IP Changer presents at a given time. In this way you surf anonymously and your wired and wireless connections are secured above and beyond the regular security measures discussed above.

So if you are using an IP Changer with your wired or wireless networks you will be surfing with much enhanced safety and security, protecting your sensitive data, identity and privacy on the internet while enjoying the convenience of wireless networking.

Having learnt some important information about a new technology that uses and Privacy Software to make wired and wireless networks safer and more secure go to http://www.privacypartners.com to get an in depth information about the technology and systems that will best help you to enhance the security of your networks.