Because Wi-Fi can work through walls, your network won’t stop at your front door. This is great news for surfing in the garden, say, or sharing an internet connection among various apartments in a building. However, if the router has no security features enabled, anyone within a few hundred feet could connect to your network. They could then potentially download large files, slowing down your connection and using up your allocated monthly bandwidth; download illegal material or carry out other illegal acts that would be traceable to your ISP account; spy on your internet activity; and possibly even access personal data on your computers.

There are two main ways to secure a wireless network. You can use one or both of these techniques.

Add a password

Some routers come with a password already set up, but in other cases you’ll have to log in to the setup section of your router and configure it yourself. This usually involves opening a web browser window, entering the admin IP listed in the router’s operating instructions, and looking for the relevant settings. You may find a few different types of password protection on offer:

- WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is offered by all routers but isn’t very secure. Anyone technically minded can find and run software capable of cracking the password.

- WPA & WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) are newer standards that are both incomparably more secure than WEP, so always choose one of these options when available.

Access lists

A WPA password is enough for most people, but for maximum security you may also want to tell your router to refuse internet access to all computers other than those you have specifically approved. You give your router an access list containing a ten-digit identity code – a so-called MAC address – for each approved computer. It then bars access to all other computers. Note that if you use an access list without a WPA password, you won’t be protected from people potentially spying on your internet use.

To set things up, look for an Access List or MAC Filtering option in your router’s configuration settings and enter the address of each computer.

Related posts:

1. Online Security Basics – Protecting Yourself with Firewall

2. Buying and Setting Up Your Own Wireless Router

3. Wired Networking Basics

4. Troubleshooting Wi-Fi

5. Online Security and Safety Guide – Preventative Medicine

6. Choosing a Home Internet Connection – Tips and Advice

7. Cloud Computing Basics – Getting Connected and Staying Connected

8. Guide to Online Password Security

9. Online Security Rules to Help Keep Your Data Safe Away from Home

10. Internet Security and Safety – Playing it Safe Online