Wireless Pci Card
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is it safe to connect to an open wireless Internet connection using a linksys wireless pci card?
is it safe to connect to an open wireless internet connection using a linksys wireless pci card? i put the pci card on the computer first and i got a connection before i installed the software for my linksys pci card using windows wireless configuration. is this safe to use even though my router is not hooked up the my other desk top computer? can anyone give me some suggestions?
I am a information security specialist. Read the following:
•Change the system ID (SSID):
All wireless APs come with a default System ID called a Service Set Identifier (SSID) or Extended Service Set Identifier (ESSID). Similar to the default administration password the default SSIDs for wireless manufacturers are well known to hackers and are an easy target. Changing this SSID to something unique and not easily identifiable is another layer of defense. When you browse for wireless networks, these SSIDs are what you see.
•Disable SSID Broadcasts:
By default all wireless APs broadcast the SSID in an attempt to fool hackers. In order to make this change more effective; disable the broadcasting of this System ID. If you know the SSID you can still connect to the wireless AP but not everyone in range of the wireless device will know it is there. *Note – the one warning here is the disabling of SSID broadcasts can sometimes cause problems when clients connect to the wireless AP for the first time.
•Log and Check Logs:
Logging on these wireless devices range from basic to robust. Log as much as you can and check them as frequently as reasonably possible to ensure that any security attempts and violations are caught.
•Defend your PCs:
While it might not seem to belong in the wireless security configuration section; the last line of defense should be the PC. Anti-virus, anti-spam, personal firewalls, disk encryption are all great ways to further the security of computers connecting to the wireless AP and help prevent the spread of Trojans, worms, and viruses to others connected to the wireless AP.
•Reduce your WLAN transmitter power:
You won't find this feature on all wireless routers and access points, but some allow you lower the power of your WLAN transmitter and thus reduce the range of the signal. Although it's usually impossible to fine-tune a signal so precisely that it won't leak outside your home or business, with some trial-and-error you can often limit how far outside your premises the signal reaches, minimizing the opportunity for outsiders to access your WLAN.
•Dividing Wired from Wireless:
Divide the wired and wireless portions of the network into different segments, with a firewall in between. This can prevent a cracker from accessing a wired network by breaking into the wireless network
•Change the Default Administrator Password
This rule could as easily apply to your home alarm system as your wireless AP. The default passwords of all the major vendors APs are well known and are the first ones tried by would be hackers. Some vendors APs will allow you to also change the username of the default administrator user. Change both if possible and in following safe computing practices do not set the password to something easily guessed such as name of the company, street address, etc.
•Enable Encryption
Without the infrastructure/budget to implement one of the advanced wireless solutions, we are left with Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) security protocols. Both security protocols encrypt your data so that only the destination of your data can read it. WPA is the more secure of the two protocols and was developed to address security issues with WEP. The drawback to WPA is that not all older models of wireless network cards support WPA. If you have a requirement to support older wireless network cards, use the highest level of WEP (128 bit) encryption available. WEP encryption can be broken and as such only use WEP if no other secure alternatives exist. WEP is better than nothing, but use WPA if you can.
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