For your reference, here are direct links to the manufacturer’s site of some popular router brands - Linksys, Cisco, Netgear, Apple AirPort, SMC, D-Link, Buffalo, TP-LINK, 3Com, Belkin. You can also use Google to find the manuals for most routers online in case you lost the printed manual that came with your router purchase. This is different for each router, so first check your router’s user manual. Usually you can do this by typing in “192.168.1.1” into your web browser, and then enter the correct user name and password for the router. Open your router settings pageįirst, you need to know how to access your wireless router’s settings. Here a few simple things that you should to secure your wireless network: Step 1.

The good news is that it is not very hard to make your wireless network secure, which will both prevent others from stealing your internet and will also prevent hackers from taking control of your computers through your own wireless network. Wireshark is a free packet sniffing tool for Linux, Mac and Windows that can scan traffic flowing though a wireless network including cookies, forms and other HTTP requests. PS:What do the bad guys use - There have been quite a few instances where innocent Internet users have been arrested for sending hate emails when in reality, their email accounts where hacked though the unsecured Wi-Fi networks that they had at home. It can create a security hazard* as others may hack your computers and access your personal files through your own wireless network.

It will decrease your Internet access speed since you are now sharing the same internet connection with other users.

It will increase your monthly Internet bill especially when you have to pay per byte of data transfer.

This practice, also known as piggybacking, is bad for three reasons: With traditional wired networks, it is extremely difficult for someone to steal your bandwidth but the big problem with wireless signals is that others can access the Internet using your broadband connection even while they are in a neighboring building or sitting in a car that’s parked outside your apartment. Wireless Networking (Wi-Fi) has made it so easy for anyone to use Internet on your computer, mobile phones, tablets and other wireless devices anywhere in the house without the clutter of cables.

Mac home network security