With Mobility on the rise with fresh breed of Laptops, Notebooks, Smartphones, Tablets launching every now-and-then, Wi-fi has become an indispensable feature for Internet access, Home & Office Networking.
So, if you are not careful enough to secure & protect your Wi-fi, you may end-up as a victim of intrusion in your Wi-fi networks that may cost you your valuable data, slow internet speeds and may end-up in a heart-rending Internet bill.
Hence, better to gear up with your armours in the right place ! Here are few steps which can provide rock solid security to your Wi-fi : -
1. Change your Router's Admin password : You can access your router's Admin page (obviously if your Router is On and connected through Wi-fi or Wired LAN) by typing its IP in the browser.The IP (generally, 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 ) is available in the User manual of the router alongwith its default Admin username & password (e.g., Username : admin, Password : admin).Login to the router using the default Admin Username & Password & head over to the Management or Admin option to change the password.Then reboot the router.You should now be able to login with the new password.This prevents any unauthorised user to gain access to your Router Admin settings and is vital for the integrity of your Network.
2. Change your Wi-fi Network name : In the wireless settings of the Router, the Wi-Fi Network name is given as SSID which in most routers is set as Default.Change it to your preferred Network name.Next click on hide SSID option so that your Wi-Fi network is not visible to every Tom-Dick & Harry ! This doesn't necessarily hide yout Wi-Fi to seasoned intruders who may be using Wi-Fi packet sniffing tools like Kismet, but obviously provides a significant layer of protection.
3. Encrypt your Wi-Fi with a password : Undoubtedly, this is the most important step.There are several options available - WEP,WPA,WPA-PSK or WPA2.WEP(Wired Equivalent Privacy ) is relatively easy to crack, so it is better to go with WPA or WPA2 which require you to put a case-sensitive password in the router Wi-Fi security settings which you need to enter in to your Wi-fi access device (like laptop's) Wi-Fi Connection settings as well when you are connecting to the network for the first time.Make it point to make it as strong as possible by including alphanumeric and special characters, that is difficult to guess as hackers may crack guessable passwords with tools like Aircrack-ng.
4. Restrict MAC address : Most routers support MAC Address Whitelist option where you can add the MAC (or Physical address ) of the Wi-Fi enabled devices you wish to connect to your Wi-Fi network.
In Windows 2000,XP,NT you may find your MAC address by navigating to Search -> Run .Type cmd & press Enter.In the command prompt that opens type ipconfig /all .
In Windows Vista / Windows 7, you can navigate to Start , then type cmd & press Enter.In the command prompt type ipconfig /all | more. You can find your PC's MAC address against the Physical address.
5. Tweak your Wi-Fi range : According to your requirement you may select the Wireless signal strength from your router settings & position the router in a suitable position so as to prevent any intruding neighbours of yours with any ill-intentions.
If your more enthusiastic you may try user-friendly apps like Wifinspect, Wifi Analyzer, Wifi Manager on your Android Wi-Fi enabled device