I just got this new wireless router. I connected it like it is suppose to be done and it works great. This is the lay out of it. Internet – modem – wireless router to computer. And my laptop picks up the connection great. But the question to me is security. I know I can make a pw for the wireless internet. But is it safe to do this? Will hackers be able to get my pw easily then see what I view? I fear that somebody outside could be on a laptop and hack into my internet and take personal data from my internet.
Well obviously, a password is better than nothing… When you do put a password on, use WPA, because it’s nearly impossible to hack, whereas WEP is weak. (Still, better than nothing.)
It is safer to use security on it than to not.
You should use WPA security or better, not WEP.
If you use WEP, then hackers probably could see what you send. If you use no security, they almost certainly will.
You can also improve security by no broadcasting the network ID and by using MAC address filtering.
Router settings:
Use WEP only as a last resort: it’s child’s play to crack.
Set for WPA or WPA2 if your computers support this level.
And;
Disable: UPnP & QoS,
Enable: Router management username & bulletproof passphrase & AES
Note: Mac address filtering will prevent accidental & casual freeloaders, but will not deter committed hackers. Mac addresses are on the front end of packets, therefore un-encrypted and as such easily copied and used to ‘spoof’ packets; enabling a ‘man in the middle’ attacks.