Wireless Network Security

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trick falltrick fall
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
So I hooked up my wife's laptop that's running XP to a wireless router. Is there anything I should be concerned about with a wireless connection going? I live in an apartment building in the city so I'm sure there are others nearby with wireless connections. I don't want to leave my machines wide open. The other machine on the router is a G5 running 10.3

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    I think your machines are fine, you could set up your router so that only your MAC addresses can connect to it if you don't want people to connect through yours.
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  • Reply 2 of 3
    k squaredk squared Posts: 608member
    You could also only specify two DHCP addresses to be released. And turn off file sharing on the WinXP machine. And turn the firewall on both machines.
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  • Reply 3 of 3
    cakecake Posts: 1,010member
    First of all change the default user name/password.



    My linksys router uses admin/admin. Whatever your defaults are, change them to something else, so that anyone snooping can't modify your settings.



    Second, enable WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). It's not completely secure, but it's better to have it on than not using it at all.

    WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) is the next great thing for wireless security. Apple put out an update for AirPort last month and most access points on the PC side support it, so if your wireless router has WPA - enable it!



    Third, do as ast3r3x suggested and tie your router only to those MAC addresses that you and your wife will be using.



    I downloaded KisMAC and MacStumbler to my PowerBook and took a little walk around my apartment complex.

    You wouldn't believe how many wireless networks were completely open and accessable!
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