How to Secure Your Wireless Broadband | Broadband Internet


Wireless broadband is fast becoming the most popular way to connect to the internet. With most broadband providers now offering packages that include a free wireless router or one at discounted price, and most laptops now come with an integrated wireless receiver. This makes the ideal opportunity to take advantage of wireless broadband.

Wireless broadband works by your router sending a signal throughout your house and beyond; it doesnt just stop at where your laptop is. With an indoor range of around 30-45 metres, this signal may be picked up by your neighbour too, allowing them to benefit from your broadband.

Someone else using your wireless broadband can be extremely dangerous in a sense that not only can that person access your broadband, that person can also;

Slow down your internet performance
View files on your computer and spread dangerous viruses
Look at the websites you visit, read your emails and copy your usernames and passwords
Send spam or perform illegal activities with your broadband connection

To prevent this only takes a few minutes, you can protect your wireless broadband connection the same way that banks protect your password when you log onto their websites. This method is called encryption; this is scrambled data on your wireless broadband network that only computers with an encryption key can read your communications.

To protect your wireless broadband network; follow these steps:

1. Login to the control panel of your router/wireless modem; details are usually found in the documentation supplied with your router/wireless modem.
2. Make sure a 128bit WEP Key is on your router.
3. Change the default username and password on your router immediately after you turn it on.
4. Close all ports on your router (if any are open).
5. Make sure the DMZ is inactive
6. If you can turn ping responses off on your router, do so
7. Change the SSID (router name) of your router to something you will recognise, but choose something that does not relate to you, your broadband provider or the manufacturer of the router.

To set up your PC/Laptop, follow these steps:

1. Make sure that the SSID (router name) is not the same as your PC/Laptops name.
2. Make sure your PC/Laptop has a secure password that contains numbers as well as letters. Make sure that it very difficult to guess your password
3. Do not store any personal information on your PC/Laptop like bank details, bills, credit card numbers etc.

Additional advice is to change your WEP Key once a month to disable potential threats gaining access to your broadband. This WEP Key can be configured automatically.

So make sure your secured and not given others access to free broadband.

If you are interested in taking advantage of current broadband internet technology then you should compare many broadband providers available in your area.

Adair Cameron is an experienced writer based in the UK.

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