Wireless Network

I am currently on a wireless network with two computers connected to it. Soon there will be two more connected to it. This is what I have done to secure my network

-Enabled 128bit Wep Encryption with a strong password/passphrase.

-Enabled the Firewall built into my router to block all incomming traffic on any port unless specified by me to unblock it.

-Set a strong numeric password on my routers setup page

-Set it to not broadcast my ssid publically.

I surf the Internet alot and know about tools such as Airsnort, and others. Is this enough security for my network, or should I do more?

-- {Jellybelly}

You can enable mac filtering if your router supports it. Simply, it will only allow a computer with an allowed mac address to connect. You can also limit the distance the signal is brodcast with a physical barrier on the wireless router.

Well if you know about tools like Airsnort then why not give it a go yourself? At least as much as a simple audit is concerned things should be airtight :). And when it comes to home wireless networks most wardrivers wouldn't bother since somebody down the street may well have the AP open to any and all connections.

I recommend MAC address filtering... not a huge extra but nothing very hard to set up either, would give to any attacker a bit more to concern himself [herself] with.

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hrmpf he took my cake ^^^ :)

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I take it my security is good already. I was reading an article about a program that can generate over 1,000 access points to confuse hackers. Is this something I should incorporate or not.

-- {Jellybelly}

Personally I would say that depends on where your network is located. Is the area around you well populated and busy? How far out of the way is your house? If you dampen the singnal to where someone has to be in your driveway to connect you will be ok with your current settings.

As mentioned above most wardrivers are not going to bother with you anyway since there are alot of easier targets available.

As stated, all that you need to do is;
1. Change the SSID
2. Disable SSID broadcast
3. Limit broadcast range
4. Enable and use a strong WEP (WPA is better, but not all WIFI Routers support it yet).
5. Enable MAC filtering
And of course change the admin name (if possible) and the default router password.

Then your WIFI system will be about as secure as you can easily make it. The firewall and antivirus on your computers and the disabling of file and print sharing (if you don't use it) will protect the computers themselfs.

Quote:

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Originally posted here by The Grunt
Personally I would say that depends on where your network is located. Is the area around you well populated and busy? How far out of the way is your house? If you dampen the singnal to where someone has to be in your driveway to connect you will be ok with your current settings.

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I live near burm University. So I would think it would be a threat.

-- {Jellybelly}

Yes, University Campuses are usually full of wannabe wardrivers and a few of the real thing... I would say MAC address filtering would be something fairly easy to implement that will increase security tenfold... They will have to spoof a mac to even have a chance at the network, but before that they have to find it among the other wlans in your area since it is well populated.

One thing that doesn't seem to have been mentioned is changing the wep key on a regular basis.
That way by the time someone could have sniffed enough network traffic the key will have been changed. Of couse the amount of bandwidth you use will determine the timeframe you will want to change the key.

Even if you leave it like it is, I doubt you'll get every other wardriver jumping on your router. Most are simply looking for free internet access, and won't want to spend the time trying to break WEP, etc. However, living near a university, better safe that sorry. So enable MAC filtering...and spamdies, that's a good idea, changing the WEP key every few days.

However, there's one factor that has not yet been mentioned. If your neighbor happens to have a router, and has not taken proper security precautions with it, you can feel safe. As I mentioned, most wardrivers are looking for free internet acess and will take the easier route. If they have a choice between your router with WEP, and your neihgbor's good ol' linnksys router with all the default settings, they'll go for your neighbor's router 90% of the time.

Better safe than sorry though.