Going 21st Century- with a router
#16
Posted 16 February 2010 - 10:07 PM
Come on and wade way out into the water with me, jump in and take my hand. --Gaelic Storm, Scalliwag
#17
Posted 17 February 2010 - 07:24 AM
A common misconception with "security" is that is denies access to your information. In reality, security delays access only. If someone truly wants to get in, they will. There are tools on the Internet to breach WAP and wireless security in a few minutes. Signal encryption and strong passwords help, but few people use them effectively.So are there any dangers if your network is secured?
My father is a former policeman and one of his favourite sayings is "A locked door will only keep out an honest man." so minimize your losses in case of a breach.
- Do not have your Credit Card number, social security number, bank account info or any personal info on your PC or email.
- When not using your wireless or Internet connection, TURN IT OFF... A simple thing, but 100% effective at keeping people out. I told a friend this and he shut off his wireless router. He was amazed when a neighbour called him complaining because he wanted to send an email and could not.
- Do not use the same password for your on-line banking as you do for your email. Indeed, you should maintain seperate passwords for all your online accounts where possible. A royal PITA, but having one password for everything makes it easy for the crooks too.
- Change your wireless access password no less than every three months. Try to use an access password that is greater than 8 characters long, a combo of upper and lower case characters, and at least one special character (#,^,&...etc.). Use word combos that do not exist in a dictionary. SuperB4d!! as an example is really hard to crack.
- If you write passwords down in a journal, notebook, or post-it note on your computer desk add a null character somewhere. If your password is "SuperB4d!!" write it down as "SuperrB4d!!" You know not to use the extra r character, but someone who sees it does not.
Even following the above does not guarentee your safety online. If you can get to the Internet, the Internet can get to you. Firewalls, Anti-virus and Anti-Spyware programs are freely available, some at no cost, on the Internet. Use them and you lower your chances of being taken advantage of dramatically.
My father said crooks will walk down a street and rattle the doorknobs. When they find one with an open door or a weak lock they break in. If they find strong locks they move on. It is the same with computer security.
Tech Support - The hard we do right away; the impossible takes us a little longer...
"I like ponies on no-stop diving. They convert "ARGH!! I'M GOING TO DIE" into a mere annoyance." ~Nigel Hewitt
#18
Posted 17 February 2010 - 09:23 AM
#19
Posted 17 February 2010 - 08:28 PM
#20
Posted 18 February 2010 - 10:06 PM
#21
Posted 18 February 2010 - 10:11 PM
Come on and wade way out into the water with me, jump in and take my hand. --Gaelic Storm, Scalliwag
#22
Posted 19 February 2010 - 12:16 PM
Okay...name that router! I'm trying to come up with a name for my network...my neighbors seem to think "The Dude" and "Stucco Chateau" work nicely! LOL! I'm all ears for any suggestions that my SD friends create.
Well Heidi -
NEVER use your name or portion of your address, regqardless of the level of WEP you use. Use something to confuse and mystify any hackers in the neighborhood. They will spend days driving around trying to figure just which house is:
Dive Queen; Scuba Central; Tank Hookup; Oceanic Computer (or whatever brand you have)... Remember, this is just the name assigned to the publically viewable name on your router, not the password!
I will try to come up with a few more for ya. My favorite before I had to use the ATT programmed router name (part of their package) was:
UP MWD Storage
(it took the City of University Park a week to knock on my door...)
UP Diver
but most people just call me - Jim."
Gene Wilder, Blazing Saddles
#23
Posted 19 February 2010 - 01:55 PM
How not to be seen.
As a downside, it will impact on performance though.
Tech Support - The hard we do right away; the impossible takes us a little longer...
"I like ponies on no-stop diving. They convert "ARGH!! I'M GOING TO DIE" into a mere annoyance." ~Nigel Hewitt
#24
Posted 23 February 2010 - 09:08 PM
Come on and wade way out into the water with me, jump in and take my hand. --Gaelic Storm, Scalliwag
#25
Posted 23 February 2010 - 09:30 PM
#26
Posted 24 February 2010 - 06:47 AM
From the Simpsons
Moe: I got this deep fryer on loan from the US Army. It can flash fry a buffalo in 40 seconds
Homer: 40 secoonnds... but i want it nooow
Tech Support - The hard we do right away; the impossible takes us a little longer...
"I like ponies on no-stop diving. They convert "ARGH!! I'M GOING TO DIE" into a mere annoyance." ~Nigel Hewitt
#27
Posted 24 February 2010 - 04:50 PM
I remember going from a 1200 to 9600 baud modem thinking it was incredibly fast. Those were the days. Now I sit here with a 6MB connection waiting, and waiting for that 700MB file to download...
From the Simpsons
Moe: I got this deep fryer on loan from the US Army. It can flash fry a buffalo in 40 seconds
Homer: 40 secoonnds... but i want it nooow
1200 baud modem. I still have some 5 1/4 360k single side floppies if you like! About 10 years ago I got rid of an NCR that had one of the first 10 mb internal hard drives. The drive was the size of a small shoe box.
I also agree, no network is ever completely secure. People make it a mission in life to be in other peoples business no matter what. Just like anything today, just take whatever steps you can to minimize your risk.
Which end is up?
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users