Guide to Wireless Security – part 3 of 3

As Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) has become outdated and easier to infiltrate, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) has emerged as a stronger method to increase your wireless security. In this section we will examine WPA and further methods of securing your wireless connection.

What you can do to secure your wireless connection continued

To be able to use WPA it must be supported by your router, adaptors and client software (it is available on Windows XP SP2 and above, and is available as an update on SP1). In recent years, this level of encryption has been enhanced with other forms of WPA made available:

• 802.1X – A standard system for wireless and wired LANS according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
• LEAP – Standing for lightweight extensible authentication protocol, this minimises the original security flaws associated with WEP.
• PEAP – From Cisco, Microsoft and RSA Security, PEAP (protected extensible authentication protocol) allows for secure transfer of data, passwords and encryption.
• TKIP – Temporal Key Integrity Protocol helps to avoid the original problems of WEP.
• RADIUS – Remote Authentication Dial In User Service acts as a gateway to verify identities with usernames and passwords that are pre-determined by the user.
• WAPI – WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure – a security level defined by the Chinese Government.

For personal users you simply need to ensure that whichever level of WPA you have, it is enabled. As a strong tip, turn off your wireless network when it is not in use – therefore limiting the time that you can be attacked.

Here are some more tips to enhancing your wireless security:

• SSID – The SSID is the service set identifier, which basically is the name of your wireless network. If you turn off the broadcasting it makes life more difficult for hackers – as users need to know the SSID to connect. Just ensure you know it yourself – it is possible to change it and this should be encouraged as manufacturers simply provide a default SSID. Again however, as with usernames and passwords, make it difficult and don’t connect it to any personal information.
• MAC filtering – Media access control (MAC) filtering allows you to set up a list of computers that are allowed to access your network. Those not on the list, will be refused access. Of course it’s still possible for a hacker to spoof the address but it does make their job a little more difficult.
• Control the signal – Use a directional antenna to send the signal in only one direction, thus limiting the 300ft range that usually comes as standard on routers.
• Consider alternatives – Most hackers use the 802.11b/g wireless technology. If you pick an alternative such as 802.11a you are limiting the chances of being hacked, but do bear in mind that this can affect your network range.

By employing these methods you should be able to secure your wireless connection and feel confident when using your PC. There is no foolproof method to keep the hackers out, but by following these security measures you should be able to surf with peace of mind.