If you are a WIFI user than u need to protect ur your network from being
hacked. Hacking a wifi network is easily done by any person having some
knowlegde about networks. It is done by sniffing ur network's packets
and decryting it to get the password of ur network.Many different
utilities are provided in an open source Operating system called "BACK
TRACK" to do all the trick to hack others wifi network and illegally
access the network.
Some suggestions to be safe.
The problem is that Microsoft designed Windows XP and Windows Vista to be convenient, especially when connecting via wireless, but convenience in the security world often carries a high price. Of course, it goes almost without saying that you should always have a suite of security applications including antivirus, antispam, and antispyware, as well as a personal firewall installed on your laptop. But to avoid having your laptop connect to the first access point that looks attractive, try these maneuvers:
1) Use a wireless broadband card
Rather than use a public cafe's open wireless, get a wireless broadband account and use your laptop to connect to 3G networks via cell modem. Overall wireless broadband accounts are more secure--it's harder to hack into a cellular call--and, in some cases, more reliable than public 802.11 wireless.
2) Change your home or office default router name
Don't make your laptop vulnerable in the first place. To do this, access your home or office router's firmware (usually this requires typing a specific address into a browser's address bar), then change the default SSID (Linksys, D-Link, Netgear, or the like) to something original (for example, UpUpAndBeyond, or something similar). While you're at it, change the router's default admin ID and password, and enable some form of encryption (WEP, WPA, or WPA2).
3) Disable the Windows networking automatic connect feature
Don't let your laptop connect just anywhere. To do so, right-click your current wireless network connection, click Properties, then click the Wireless Networks tab. Here you'll see a box with all of the last known connections you've made. After each, if it says "automatic," highlight and click properties, then select the connection tab for that network. Uncheck the box labeled "Connect when this network is in range."
The downside is that the next time you fire up your laptop, you won't be connected right away. Instead, you should see a list of available wireless networks. It'll cost you a few seconds to choose one and connect to the right network, but at least you'll know what you're connecting to.
4) Set a MAC address for the routers you know
This won't help with random, open public wireless networks the physical address of which you won't necessarily know, but it will help with home and office connections, particularly if you live or work in a crowded area. Again, if you haven't changed your SSID, how do you know if the Linksys router you're connecting to from the front of your apartment is the one in the back of your apartment, or your neighbor's next door?
5) Turn off the ad hoc connections option
This should already be disabled with most default Windows XP and Vista installations, but you should check anyway.
NEXT >>
