Ah yes, there's no strings on me! Wireless networking has made sharing your Internet connection easier than ever. Whenever you hear easy you should think of who YOU are making it easier for. As technology in wireless routers gets better and better and receiving strengths increase (up to 400 meters) you could be sharing your connection with more than just the intended participants. In an office block or apartment building your wireless signal will travel through walls and floors and potentially onto the street or parking area. This gives would be Internet thieves plenty of opportunity to surf on your bill or even hack into your network

There is a light at the end of the tunnel of easy street though and it comes by being prepared. Many new wireless access users simply configure their Internet settings and off they go. These are the generous people willing to share their connection with neighbors and passersby. However, if this is not you protect yourself. All wireless routers provide the ability to secure the connection through the use of WEP Encryption. WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy and as the name implies the object of WEP is to protect your network as if it was wired. WLANs (Wireless local Area Networks), which are over radio waves, do not have the same physical structure and therefore are more vulnerable to tampering. WEP aims to provide security by encrypting data over radio waves so that it is protected as it is transmitted from one end point to another. However, it has been found that WEP is not as secure as once believed. WEP is used at the two lowest layers of the OSI model - the data link and physical layers; it therefore does not offer end-to-end security. Basically, if an experienced hacker needs into your network you need to look at alternatives to WEP Encryption. However, for the most part 128Bit WEP Encryption will keep your network private from the majority of casual Internet thieves.

Following is an example of a D-Link DI-614+ router configured for 128Bit encryption. As you can see it is not a difficult safety measure to employ.

First off, enable WEP and choose 128Bit for solid security. Most routers will allow you to use up to 256Bit encryption however, the longer the encryption key (256Bit=58 characters, 128Bit=26 characters) the slower your network will run due to the additional traffic you are pushing through. Using a Key Type of HEX allows the use of 26 HEX characters (for 128Bit encryption) which include numbers 0-9 and letters A-F. This makes for a strong key that will be difficult to randomly generate. Think of how weak your other passwords are in comparison.

Once you have your router configured to require WEP you need to configure the wireless devices on your LAN to communicate that same key. Here is a quick rundown for XP users:

Step 1 Right-click on the computer monitor icon in the system tray, select View Available Wireless Networks. Step 2 Highlight the SSID of your wireless network in the available networks box (Our example above used default but you can name it whatever you want when you set up the router). The Network Key field will then become available. Enter in the same encryption key that was set in the wireless router/access point. Step 3 Click on the connect button. If your wireless network is not showing in available wireless networks: Step 1 Right-click on the computer monitor icon in the system tray and select view available wireless networks. Step 2 Click on the Advanced button and then click Add. Type in the SSID of your wireless router/access point. Put a check in the Data Encryption (WEP enabled) box, and uncheck the the key is provided for me automatically box. The Network Authentication (Shared Mode) must be checked. Step 3 Select either 40 or 104-bits for the key length. Select hexadecimal digits for the Key Format. In the Network Key field type in the encryption key you entered into the wireless router/access point. The length of the key will depend on what you selected for the key length.   40 (same as 64-bit encryption) 10 characters 104 (same as 128-bit encryption) 26 characters The key is HEX, meaning A-F and 0-9. Step 4 Select OK to save your settings.

 Repeat the above for each of your PCs and notebooks on the LAN. Here is a link in case you are running an Operating System other than Windows XP, Windows 98 and ME. 

If you are interested in purchasing a Wireless D-Link router have a look at our router page and get a quote.