Security Precautions For Wireless Internet Users

Using a wireless internet network ( Wi-Fi) has many advantages for internet users. It allows you to be able to work in any room of your home and even outside your house and still be able to connect to the internet. Along with the advantages, Wi-Fi also comes with some security issues. If you can pick your Wi-Fi signal from outside your house, that means that others will be able to do the same. Wireless internet users need to take some extra precautions to protect their information from being taken or hacked into by others.

Protecting Yourself At Home

The best way to protect our computer when you have Wi-Fi is to make sure that you have an up-to-date antivirus program installed on your computer. Most anti-virus software will automatically scan your computer to check for any possible threats or viruses. By enabling a WEP or WPA (encryptions on your computer) you can help prevent any intruders from accessing your computer and installing a virus or worm on it. This is very important for wireless internet users as any half-way decent hacker can use your Wi-Fi connection to get into your computer.

When you look for a router for your wireless internet, make sure to get one that has a firewall installed on it. This will greatly reduce the chances that someone will be able to hack into your computer. If you find that your router does not have a firewall installed on it, there are firewall software programs that you can add to your existing router.

Disable the SSID link on your wireless internet. The SSID link is a network that the Wi-Fi uses that regularly broadcast over the air. If you disable the SSID, that means that others can not access your network. This means they won’t have access to your computer either.

Protecting Yourself At Public Wi-Fi Spots

If you have the proper software on your computer, you will be able to go places like local coffee shops, hotels, and airports which are hot spots for wireless internet. This means that you can log onto the computer from these places and share the network. Sharing the network means that you may have a greater chance of someone accessing your computer information or sending a virus into your computer. A good idea when using wireless internet at a public place is to never put any personal identification on your computer at that time. Don’t give your social security number at that time to anybody or order anything online with a credit card while using the public internet.