According to a recent survey, roughly 32% of Americans are stealing WiFi. While the number might be a little different here in Australia, here are some tips to make sure no one’s stealing your internet.
The tips come from Scott Jackson, Marketing Manager for Cisco Linksys, and are aimed at helping you get the best security on your network without needing to know all of the ins and outs of your network.
- Always password protect your network: Often we choose passwords based on names, birthdates, location etc. These can be pretty easy to crack for a dedicated hacker. For a more secure password you could use a sentence with a number in it. You start it with a capital letter and end it with punctuation. Always try a combination of upper case, lower case, numbers and a symbol if the tab allows it.
- Disable SSID broadcasting: SSID broadcasting is a feature in your router setup which lets anyone see your network in the local vicinity. By disabling it you ensure no one in the immediate area can attempt to access it.
- Enable MAC filtering: A Media Access Control (MAC) address is a unique identifying number which each connected device in your home has. Turning MAC filtering on in your router settings will make sure the only devices which access your network are the ones that you have specified.
It’s important to note that pretty much every wireless networking device will support these tips, not just the ones made by Cisco Linksys.
