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How to Protect Wireless Networks

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Submitted By makmesh
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How to Protect Home Wireless Network
The following are methods used in ensuring home wireless networks are safe and secure from unauthorized access.
Check the SSID (Service Set Identifier) if it is the default one, and change to something unique. Manufacturers give their wireless routers a preset SSID. Changing the SSID to something unique is a good practice. The default SSID will show to a hacker that a novice set the network and that the other settings such as passwords are default.
Enable encryption of the wireless router. The routers often come with the encryption disabled. Use 128-bit encryption or higher to increase security. The recommended encryption scheme is WPA2 encryption. Also use longer passwords that use a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols.
Enable the MAC Address Filter so that the wireless router screens MAC addresses of devices that connect to the wireless network. The wireless network can be configured in such way that it accepts a connection from wireless devices with allowed MAC addresses.
Change the default access password that comes with the wireless router. The default password is for administering the router’s settings. Use a random sequence of the maximum possible character length.
Firewalls protect networks from hardware-based and software-based harmful intrusion. The recommended setting is that you enable the built-in firewall of the wireless router.
Turn off the setting that allows administering the router through a wireless connection to prevent wireless hacking of any kind into the router.

Reference
Bejtlich, Richard. The Practice of Network Security and Monitoring Understanding Incident Detection and Response. San Fransisco: No Starch Press, 2013.
Briere, Daniel D., and Patrick J. Hurley. Wireless Home Networking for Dummies. 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011.

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