How safe is wireless?

I saw a news report where a couple of guys drove around and were able to determine who had wireless connections in their homes and were able gain access through most of them from a computer in a van on the street in front of their house.

Is something like that actually possible for those that have a wireless connection?

[niki]

Make a secure network which requires username and password and allot every user a username and yes there are security conserns as its a broadcast network.

[attagirl]

Yes that is very possible. One thing you can do to protect your computer is to have a firewall. They can be downloaded for free online.

These connections are usually picked up from your modem, so if you protect your computer you will be ok. There are also things you can do to secure your modem so they are not accessible. Just because someone can access your wireless modem and router it does not necessarily mean they can access your computer.

[JenniP]

Firewalls will be of absolutely no use protecting your WIFI connection, firewalls will protect the data on your PC and to protect the whole network from intrusion from the internet itself, but not the traffic over the wireless.

To protect the wireless traffic it needs to be encrypted over the air using WPA or WPA2 otherwise you may just as well invite the hacker in to your house and let them read your screen.

Jen

[funtoosh]

No use using firewalls the best way is to provide username and password for everyone who wants to use your router and do MAC binding if possible.`

[hitler]

If we have put a code or password in our wireless network then it is safe otherwise it will be open to all the systems which comes in their range

[blasted]

If you have a strong and lengthy WEP key enabled on your router there is no possibility for someone to get into your router.However, hackers are always trying to think of ways to get round this.Its best to install a firewall for extra security.Also in your router admin panel check which IPs are connected to your network regular.

[Nick]

The latest WPA2 ensures that your wireless network is safe from hackers and unauthorized access. For better protection, make the password very hard to crack. You should also change passwords periodically. Another tip is, when you dont use wireless network, switch off it and disable your internet connection.

[blasted]

Adapting and expanding on Nicks post.Always have the longest WEP key possible on your router, make sure its a code using a variety of letters and numbers and other punctuation.Change this once every 3 weeks and you will be okay and highly protected.

[smith]

Many people who stumble upon wireless connection which is not adequately protected happen to indulge in wifi thefts and hacking, one of the recent reports say. This free broadband access does not seem to hurt the conscience of many as nobody knows whose wireless connection they are using.

As most laptops can be enabled with wireless broadband access, it detects a connection as soon it is switched on. Unless the connection is protected by password or WPA, anybody can access it.