Hiya all

Just got your wifi router ?..Very good , so , I hope you all setup your wifi networking. WiFi is pretty cool..imagine , you..your laptop...in the toilet...err , did I say that..I meant , in your house !..Be connected eveywhere. But of course there is one downside using wifi , which is security. Well , I'm here to explain on how-to secure your wifi networking and what kind of security that you can use to protect your AP/Router and your PCs


Lets get started , shall we..First of all , take a look at your router , see what kind of protocols it supports (e.g WPA , WEP , WPA2 , RADIUS). Of course it may sound confusing , but soon you will learn later , more about them.

Okay , before we secure our WiFi AP/Router , lets think...If you really wanna secure it or not. To do this , do a "scan" in your area (take your laptop/pda and run NetStumbler/Kismac/kismet/iStumbler) to find for other APs. If you have found other APs (besides yours) , that means someone is using WiFi in your area. Normally this tool will report back if its secure or not..If there are secure , that means...err , your "jiran-jiran" dont want you to steal their bandwidth for BT leeching and downloading stuff...But if you see , an Open AP , that means he/she does not know about it or he/she wants to be free (like me , keep the AP open but limit it ..you might never know...suddenly someone wants to use the internet , for ER purposes..you might never know). If you don't find any , dont be sad. Now , lets get cooking

Now go to your WiFi security settings page , and now read the information below :-

Ways to secure your WiFi :-

WEP (aka The Mamak Stall Style) - (64-bit/128-bit) = This is actually pretty good enough for malaysians. Seriously , if your area/place has no other Access Point , beside yours. Then you might want to use WEP. One thing about WEP , it works with many older devices and newer devices..So you might not have a problem , using your old 802.11b cards with your new Router.. But of course , WEP is weak , you could just crack it to know the password by running kismac/kismet and some other tools. But again , you must do your math..Think , if anyone gonna hack your network and what are the risks taken..Is your network running something secure that you should be known by other people. If so , take a look at the next way to secure your wifi


WPA (better then WEP) = (TKIP/AES/Both) = Much more better then WEP in many ways..At least you dont have to remember the looooooooooong keys...Its much more secure then WEP in many ways. You should use WPA , when you have some APs in your area and they all secure their wifi. So , its a safer choice for you to protect your AP..Bear in mind , older devices do not work well with WPA , and some does not support it at all..So WEP is a better choice for you. You might even "xtra-secure" it , by using it along side with MAC Filter)



WPA2 ( WARNING : This is over the limit : Errr , WPA2 is certainly better then WPA , but this is over the limit for average folks that just wanna enjoy the freedom of WiFi. Unless you're working with FBI , CIA , and ..... (you should already know about WPA2). Then you should use WPA2. Bear in mind , not all devices do support WPA2 , its only being supported by certain devices such as Apple Airport series , Linksys WRT54g series , D-link routers (the newer ones)


So now can choose your own path..Choose which you think is safe for you. Of course you might want to mix'n'match (e.g WEP with Mac Filtering , WPA with Static IP (aka no DHCP)". Apart from that ,if you dont wish to secure your wifi , please at least secure your router by changing the default password , and on some routers , you can block users that are on WiFi network to access the GUI. Of course , if you ask me honestly , I think WEP is still good for folks like us , who is just gonna use the Internet (SOME might disagree and again its good for home/home-office users). If you're not in that category , then you might want to use WPA/WPA2...To secure WEP even , you should use it with MAC-Filter , so that even someone managed to hack , he/she needs to know an allowed mac address before logging in