The Internet and the World Wide Web have no doubt made our lives better. Booking an air ticket from the cozy comfort of your home today is just a click away; no more running around to the local library for that odd reference; history is now available on your desktop 24hrs/365 days, and all this possible, because of ‘networks’. It is possible to login to a Virtual Private Network (provided you have access) without dragging around lengths of cables. Mobile computing has become wholly possible!

However, the question that is exercising minds is –Is the Network secure? The Internet and the World Wide Web have brought into sharp focus the vulnerability of networks-- be they wired (which use wires or cables as the connecting medium) or wireless, and a plethora of problems peculiar to networks. While the wired world grapples with its own problems the wireless world is conscious of the extreme vulnerability of the “network”.

As the name suggests, wireless networks are liberated from wires. The network communicates using a ‘router’, which broadcasts radio frequency (RF) signals. The wireless antenna network cards, fixed to the computers on the network, pick up these signals. Of course, wireless networks are less cumbersome, easy to install, manage and maintain but the greatest challenge is ensuring data security--particularly since RF signals are easy target for hackers.

The question, therefore is, how to secure the data? What follows are simple yet effective measures one can take to ward off the predatory hackers who lurk everywhere, waiting for a chance to pounce on their targets and disable them!

Change the ID/password:

These wireless systems have a default system ID known as the SSID (Service Set Identifier) or ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier). Change the default system ID with some other ID, which is unique and not easily identifiable. Similarly, change the default password on your wireless router also.

Don’t blow your trumpet:

These wireless equipments come with an Identifier Broadcasting . Disable it. Instructions on how to disable it can be found in the manual you get along with the hardware.

Cryptology to the rescue

Encrypt your data using WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). By these methods you can ensure that only the person to whom the data is intended is able to read it.

Great Wall of Fire

Routers, have inbuilt firewalls. Firewalls are devices or software that serve as a line of defense against hackers and prowlers on the Net. Like, in olden days they used to build a huge wall around the city to prevent enemy attack. Remember? A firewall is something similar but not necessarily physical. Instructions on how to configure the router will be available in the manual you get along with the hardware. This way, the traffic in or out of the system is filtered.

The final word

Have a personal firewall (there are many options available in the market) and an anti virus software also installed on your system. And do not stop with that. Update..... That’s the way you keep up with the times.