How to find out the IP address of your router in Windows PC

To tweak any setting on your router, you must know the IP address of your router. Whether it be changing your WiFi SSID password or limit the maximum number of connected devices . Here in this article, i will tell you several ways to find the IP address of your router.

Note: – In most cases the IP address of the router is either 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. But, if that is not the case, follow the given below methods to quickly determine IP address of the Router.

Method 1 – Using IPconfig Command

1 – Open Command Prompt.

2 – Now, write the command given below.

ipconfig

3 – The IP address written beside Default Gateway in the output is your Router IP address.

Method 2 – Using Tracert Command

1 – Open Command prompt

2 – Now, write the command given below.

tracert www.google.com

3 – The output will contain your Router ip address in the first hop.

Method 3 – Using Network & Sharing Centre

1 – Go to Control panel

2 – Click on view Network status & Tasks

Now, Click on your network Connection icon.

3 – No, Click on details.


4 – Now, look out for Default gateway in this window. That is the IP address of your Router.

That is it. With these methods you can easily find out the IP address of your Router in windows computer.

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Wi-Fi Security: Should You Use WPA2-AES, WPA2-TKIP, or Both?

Many routers provide WPA2-PSK (TKIP), WPA2-PSK (AES), and WPA2-PSK (TKIP/AES) as options. Choose the wrong one, though, and you’ll have a slower, less-secure network.

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), and Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) are the primary security algorithms you’ll see when setting up a wireless network. WEP is the oldest and has proven to be vulnerable as more and more security flaws have been discovered. WPA improved security, but is now also considered vulnerable to intrusion. WPA2, while not perfect, is currently the most secure choice. Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) are the two different types of encryption you’ll see used on networks secured with WPA2. Let’s take a look at how they differ and which is best for you.

AES vs. TKIP

TKIP and AES are two different types of encryption that can be used by a Wi-Fi network. TKIP is actually an older encryption protocol introduced with WPA to replace the very-insecure WEP encryption at the time. TKIP is actually quite similar to WEP encryption. TKIP is no longer considered secure, and is now deprecated. In other words, you shouldn’t be using it.

AES is a more secure encryption protocol introduced with WPA2. AES isn’t some creaky standard developed specifically for Wi-Fi networks, either. It’s a serious worldwide encryption standard that’s even been adopted by the US government. For example, when you encrypt a hard drive with TrueCrypt, it can use AES encryption for that. AES is generally considered quite secure, and the main weaknesses would be brute-force attacks (prevented by using a strong passphrase) and security weaknesses in other aspects of WPA2.

The short version is that TKIP is an older encryption standard used by the WPA standard. AES is a newer Wi-Fi encryption solution used by the new-and-secure WPA2 standard. In theory, that’s the end of it. But, depending on your router, just choosing WPA2 may not be good enough.

While WPA2 is supposed to use AES for optimal security, it can also use TKIP where backward compatibility with legacy devices is needed. In such a state, devices that support WPA2 will connect with WPA2 and devices that support WPA will connect with WPA. So “WPA2” doesn’t always mean WPA2-AES. However, on devices without a visible “TKIP” or “AES” option, WPA2 is generally synonymous with WPA2-AES.

And in case you’re wondering, the “PSK” in those names stands for “pre-shared key” — the pre-shared key is generally your encryption passphrase. This distinguishes it from WPA-Enterprise, which uses a RADIUS server to hand out unique keys on larger corporate or government Wi-Fi networks.

Wi-Fi Security Modes Explained

Confused yet? We’re not surprised. But all you really need to do is hunt down the one, most secure option in the list that works with your devices. Here are the options you’re likely to see on your router:

* Open (risky): Open Wi-Fi networks have no passphrase. You shouldn’t set up an open Wi-Fi network—seriously, you could have your door busted down by police.

* WEP 64 (risky): The old WEP protocol standard is vulnerable and you really shouldn’t use it.

* WEP 128 (risky): This is WEP, but with a larger encryption key size. It isn’t really any less vulnerable than WEP 64.

* WPA-PSK (TKIP): This uses the original version of the WPA protocol (essentially WPA1). It has been superseded by WPA2 and isn’t secure.

* WPA-PSK (AES): This uses the original WPA protocol, but replaces TKIP with the more modern AES encryption. It’s offered as a stopgap, but devices that support AES will almost always support WPA2, while devices that require WPA will almost never support AES encryption. So, this option makes little sense.

* WPA2-PSK (TKIP): This uses the modern WPA2 standard with older TKIP encryption. This isn’t secure, and is only a good idea if you have older devices that can’t connect to a WPA2-PSK (AES) network.

* WPA2-PSK (AES): This is the most secure option. It uses WPA2, the latest Wi-Fi encryption standard, and the latest AES encryption protocol. You should be using this option. On some devices, you’ll just see the option “WPA2” or “WPA2-PSK.” If you do, it will probably just use AES, as that’s a common-sense choice.

* WPAWPA2-PSK (TKIP/AES): Some devices offer—and even recommend—this mixed-mode option. This option enables both WPA and WPA2, with both TKIP and AES. This provides maximum compatibility with any ancient devices you might have, but also allows an attacker to breach your network by cracking the more vulnerable WPA and TKIP protocols.

WPA2 certification became available in 2004, ten years ago. In 2006, WPA2 certification became mandatory. Any device manufactured after 2006 with a “Wi-Fi” logo must support WPA2 encryption.

Since your Wi-Fi enabled devices are most likely newer than 8-10 years old, you should be fine just choosing WPA2-PSK (AES). Select that option and then you can see if anything doesn’t work. If a device does stop working, you can always change it back. Although, if security is a concern, you might just want to buy a new device manufactured since 2006.

WPA and TKIP Will Slow Your Wi-Fi Down

WPA and TKIP compatability options can also slow down your Wi-Fi network. Many modern Wi-Fi routers that support 802.11n and newer, faster standards will slow down to 54mbps if you enable WPA or TKIP in their options. They do this to ensure they’re compatible with these older devices.

By comparison, even 802.11n supports up to 300mbps if you’re using WPA2 with AES. Theoretically, 802.11ac offers maximum speeds of 3.46 Gbps under optimum (read: perfect) conditions.

On most routers we’ve seen, the options are generally WEP, WPA (TKIP), and WPA2 (AES)—with perhaps a WPA (TKIP) + WPA2 (AES) compatibility mode thrown in for good measure.

If you do have an odd sort of router that offers WPA2 in either TKIP or AES flavors, choose AES. Almost all your devices will certainly work with it, and it’s faster and more secure. It’s an easy choice, as long as you can remember AES is the good one.

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How to Find Public WiFi Using the Facebook App on Your Phone

Everyone needs to find a Wi-Fi hotspot every once in a while. Almost everyone has Facebook. If you have the Facebook on your phone, you can use it to find local businesses that offer public Wi-Fi. Here’s how to use this tool.

Facebook’s Find Wi-Fi tool is one of a bunch of built-in mini-apps that you might not even realize is on your phone. Facebook keeps a listing of businesses that offer public Wi-Fi hotspots, many of them free. Businesses have to confirm via their business profile pages that they offer Wi-Fi, and include the name of their public network. So if you find Wi-Fi through Facebook’s app, you can be pretty sure that there really is an open network there.

To find the Wi-Fi finder tool, open the Facebook app and tap the menu button in the top right corner.

Scroll down to the Apps section. Tap See All and tap Find Wi-Fi in the list.

The first time you use Find Wi-Fi, you’ll need to give it permission to use your current location and location history to find Wi-Fi spots. IF you don’t go further than this, Facebook won’t get access to your location (unless you’ve given Facebook permission through one of many, many other ways it may be tracking you), but you can turn it off later if you need to.

First, you’ll see a list of networks around you that offer public Wi-Fi. You’ll also see store hours and the name of the network, so you can easily find it when you get there. These listings appear to be ordered by distance away from your current location. Alternatively, you can tap Map to see the locations on a map and explore other areas.

On the map screen, you can pan around and tap Search This Area to find more available Wi-Fi spots. This is particularly handy if you know you’re going to be in a different part of town later and need to find a place to work on your laptop. Tap on one of the dots to find information about the business that offers Wi-Fi.

Note, while these networks may be publicly available according to their business’ listing page, you may still need to ask for a password or agree to some terms in order to get access. Unfortunately, Facebook doesn’t offer this information, but you can contact the business or ask someone inside when you get there.

Once you arrive at the business, you can log into the Wi-Fi network like you normally would on your phone or laptop. Facebook doesn’t automatically connect you to any networks, but it’s a handy tool for exploring where open spots are around your city.

How to Turn Off Find Wi-Fi’s Location Tracking

Let’s say you needed to find a Wi-Fi network in a pinch, but you’d rather not let Facebook keep tracking your location. You can disable this in your Facebook settings. To find this, tap the menu icon just like you did in the first step above. This time, scroll down to find Account Settings.

Next, tap Location. 

In the middle of the page, you’ll see a toggle that reads Location History. Disable this toggle. You’ll see a prompt that lets you know which Facebook mini “apps” you’ll lose access to (and, consequently, which ones won’t have access to your location). Tap OK to confirm.

Now, Facebook won’t be tracking your location using these services. If you ever need to use Facebook’s location tools again, it will ask you to grant permission to use your location before doing so.

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How to Make Your Wired Printer Wireless

Your laptop and desktop computers are connected over a Wi-Fi network but you still need a physical USB cable to connect your wired printer to one of these computers.

If you find your existing setup a bit inconvenient and are looking for ways that will help you print documents from the same printer but wirelessly, here are some choices.

TURN ANY WIRED PRINTER INTO A WIRELESS NETWORK PRINTER

More new printers these days are network enabled so you can just attach them to your home network using the Ethernet port (or over Wi-Fi) and print from any other computer in the home network. However, if you are using an old USB based printer, you can use a wireless print server to turn that wired printer into a wireless one.

Wireless print servers are small devices (they look like mini routers) that have a USB port. You just have to connect the printer to this wireless print server using a regular USB cable and the printer will then become available to all other computers in your wireless network.

Here’s an overview of some of the most popular wireless print servers:

Netgear WGPS606 – This is both a wireless print server and a wired router.   It has two USB ports so you may use the device for sharing up to two printers over the wireless network. The same print server can also help you connect four different computers to the network even if they are not fitted with wireless network adapters. Costs around $60.

Linksys Print Server – This wireless print server from Cisco makes it easy to access all the functions of your all-in-one printer over the wireless network.   The Print Server can connect most USB based multifunction printers to your network using an Ethernet cable or Wireless-G. The print function works like any other print server but for scanning or copying, a user can request exclusive use of that function until his task is complete. Costs around $80.

HP Wireless Kit – If you like to turn your wired HP printer into a wireless one, the HP Wireless Printing Kit could be a good choice as it integrates fully with all features of your printer, including print, scan, and fax. It comes with a USB transmitter that you need to insert into the computer for wireless printing. The advantage is that you can print wirelessly even if you don’t have a wireless network. Requires Windows and costs around $75.

If you don’t have a wireless network at your place, you can consider getting a Bluetooth adapter for your printer. You need to attach the Bluetooth dongle to your computer and print wirelessly though the range will obviously be limited. Check your printer manufacturer’s site if they provide a Bluetooth adapter for your printer model.

SHOULD YOU BUY A WIRELESS PRINT SERVER?

Before you invest in a wireless print server for your printer, consider this.

Today, most multifunction printers include wireless capabilities and can therefore connect directly to your wireless network without any additional hardware. Some of these printers are available in the $100 range. With this in mind, does it make more sense to purchase a new printer instead of buying a wireless print server for your existing printer?

Here are some possible scenarios:

* If your current printer is relatively new and you paid more than $100 for it, then it may be more economical for you to simply purchase a wireless print server instead of purchasing an entirely new printer with the same features.

* If a wireless printer in not available in your area, you can buy a regular USB based wired printer and get someone to ship you a wireless print server. This would incur less shipping costs than ordering a wireless printer.

* Some wireless print servers can be used as wireless routers. If you do not have a wireless router at your place, you can opt for a wireless print server as it will not only turn your printer wireless but you also get to setup a wireless home network.

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Build a Wireless Home Network without a Router

Let’s say you have one internet connection at home that you want to share across all your desktop and laptop computers, your Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones, tablets, video game consoles (like the Xbox), digital photo frames and any other wireless devices that you may have at home.

How do you do this?

The easiest way to setup a wireless network, as we all know, is with the help of a router – just attach a wireless router to your modem and any Wi-Fi enabled gear, that’s located inside the signal range of your router, will be able to connect to the web using that lone Internet connection.

SETUP WIRELESS NETWORK WITHOUT A WIRELESS ROUTER

Now consider a slightly different scenario – you have all these Wi-Fi enabled devices at home but there’s no router. Well, there’s no reason to buy one because you can still easily setup a wireless network as long as your computers have a wireless network adapter*.

[*] Most new desktops and laptop computers are already equipped with internal network adapters so you are ready to go without a router.

If your computer doesn’t have built-in wireless capabilities, you can either buy a USB network adapter that plugs into the USB port of your desktop or go for a wireless adapter that directly plugs into your notebook’s PC Card slot. Desktop users can also opt for an internal wireless PCI card but you’ll have to open the computer case in order to install this network adapter.

CREATE A WI-FI NETWORK WITHOUT A ROUTER

Now that you have everything in place to create a Wi-Fi network, let’s actually build one.

For Windows XP and Vista users

If your main computer, that is already connected to the internet, is running Windows XP, Vista or even Mac OS X, you can set up an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network and the other wireless devices can then connect to the web via this ad-hoc network (also called a computer-to-computer network).

Wired Connection In, Wireless Connection Out

It’s an easy process. To set up an ad-hoc network in Windows Vista, go to Network and Sharing Center from the control panel, select “Set up a connection or network” and choose “Set up a wireless ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network”.

Make sure you select “Save this network” option else the ad hoc network will be removed if no other computers / devices are connecting to the network.

Turn on Internet Sharing in the next screen and now your other home computers can connect to the ad hoc network just like they would connect to any regular wireless network. Setting up an ad hoc network in XP takes a couple of extra steps but also make sure the host computer is running at least XP SP2 or SP3.

For Windows 7 users

If you are on Windows 7, you can instantly turn your  computer into a personal Wi-Fi hotspot without having to configure anything. All you need is a free software called Virtual Router and the computer connected to the internet must be running Windows 7.

[*] Virtual Router works will all editions of Windows 7 except the Starter edition because Microsoft has disabled the Virtual Wifi feature in that particular edition.

Using the virtual router is simple – just run the program on any Windows 7 computer, assign a password and that’s it. In the above example, I used the Virtual Router to connect an iPod, an Ubuntu Linux laptop and a Windows desktop to the Internet via a Windows 7 notebook where that virtual router software was running.

As new devices join the Wireless network, their assigned IP and MAC addresses instantly appear in the Virtual Router window. And you can click the “Stop Router” button anytime to deactivate the hotspot and disable Internet sharing.

VIRTUAL WI-FI VS AD HOC WIRELESS NETWORKING

To set up Ad Hoc networking, your main computer needs to have an Ethernet based Internet connection as well as a Wireless (WLAN) network adapter. In the case of Virtual Wi-Fi, the Ethernet card is optional so you can turn a laptop into a hotspot even if your laptop itself is connected to a Wireless network and not to an Ethernet cable.

Computers and other wireless devices in ad hoc networks must be within 30 feet of each other but there’s no such restriction in the case of Virtual Wireless networks.

Ad-Hoc wireless networking is available on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 while Virtual WiFi, which is much easier to setup, is available on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008.

[*] Intel’s Centrino 2 processors include a technology called My Wifi that can also turn your wirelessly connected laptop into a personal Wi-Fi hotspot but the interesting part is that this supports Windows Vista as well in addition to Windows 7.

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Let Others Contact You Through Your Own Wi-Fi Network

The Wi-Fi network at your home has a public name, also known as SSID, that will often show up on your neighbor’s computer or any other mobile device that is within the range of your wireless network.

The name of a wireless network (or SSID) rarely says anything about the owner of that network and that’s good because most people won’t like the idea of sharing their Wi-Fi network with others. Some have even suggested using scary and unusual names for SSIDs (like “Police Van”) to discourage Wi-Fi theft.

CHANGE SSID TO ADVERTISE YOUR WI-FI NETWORK

However, if you are on the other side and want people to actually use your Wireless connection – maybe for a monthly fee – a free service like Wifis.org can be of some help.

WiFis.org provides you a unique URL like www.wifis.org/way2trick. You need to change your network’s name (SSID) to that URL and it will then show up under “Available Wireless Networks” on other computers that are within your wireless range.

If your neighbors happen to type that URL in the browser, they’ll see a contact form which they can use (“Hi, Can I borrow your Wi-Fi for an hour?”) to directly get in touch with you but without knowing your real email address.

You can also write your WiFis.org SSIDs as wif.is/<username> or <username>.wifis.org.

This is definitely a neat idea though there’s an alternative as well. You can create a special email address to advertise your Wi-Fi network in the neighborhood and then set it as your SSID – something like BorrowMyWifiATgmailDOTcom. In either case, do make sure that your Wi-Fi is secured with WPA2.

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Boost your Wi-Fi Signal with a Can of Coke

A piece of Aluminum foil is probably the easiest and cheapest way to boost your Wi-Fi signal.

You just need to position the foil behind the antenna of your wireless router and the curved foil will then direct the Wi-Fi signals in your preferred direction thus boosting the overall signal strength.

Other than using an Aluminum foil, you may also make your own Wi-Fi extender at home using an empty can of beer or soda.

The cans are obviously more sturdy than the foil and the can’s lid acts as a stand but you need to be a bit more careful while cutting the can’s body with that knife. Also make sure that the can’s inner body is completely dry before you slip it into the router’s antenna.

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How to Prevent People from Stealing your Wi-Fi Network

The data LED of your wireless router is constantly blinking and none of the family members are using the Internet at home. This might indicate that someone outside – probably your neighbors – are surfing the web using your Wireless (Wi-Fi) network.

Are neighbors using your Wi-Fi network?

If you would like to confirm whether an outsider is using your wireless home network, here’s a trick. First enter the router’s IP address in the browser’s address bar. Then open the DHCP Client Table (it is under Status – > Local Network – > DHCP Server for Linksys routers). This shows a list of all devices connected to your wireless network including those of strangers.

HOW TO PREVENT WI-FI THEFT

You can’t block the Wi-Fi signals from reaching your neighbor’s house but there are several things you may do to prevent them from piggybacking on your wireless network. Some of the well-known techniques to secure your Wireless network include:

1. Setup a password for your Wi-Fi network – Open your router’s admin dashboard and set the wireless security mode to either WPA, WPA2 or WEP (use WPA2-mixed if possible). Now people would have to know the password before they can join your Wi-Fi network.

2. Use MAC Address Filtering – Your laptop computer, mobile phone, tablet and all other gadgets have a unique MAC address. Go to your router’s dashboard and under the Wireless Mac Filter section, add the MAC addresses of all your known devices so that only whitelisted devices can access your wireless Internet.

DISCOURAGE NEIGHBORS FROM USING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK

Most people in the neighborhood, who are connecting to your Wi-Fi network without permission, could be doing so unintentionally just because their computer showed them that an open wireless network in available in that area.

You can rename your wireless network name, also known as SSIDs to something scary – like c:\virus.exe – and your neighbors are less likely to connect to your Wi-Fi network ever again. Other suggestions for scary SSID names include Police Van and Network Service Unavailable.

To change the SSID of your wireless router, log in to your router’s admin console and rename the network under Basic Wireless setting.

[*] Find the MAC Address of your devices

If you type “ipconfig /all” at the command prompt, you can easily find the MAC address of your computer’s network card – just look for the string “Physical Address.” The Wi-Fi Mac address of mobile devices is often listed on their Settings page.

The MAC Addresses are also listed inside the DHCP Client Table of your router.

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How to Communicate your Displeasure with Neighbours using Wi-Fi

You want to maintain amicable relations with your neighbors but their loud music has become too annoying and distracting. What can a good way to communicate your displeasure and get them to turn down the volume?

Your wireless network has a name (or SSID) that will show up on your neighbour’s computer and mobile phone. You can put the complaint message in your Wi-Fi name and your neighbours may see it when their device is scanning for available wireless names to connect to the Internet.

And unless you are the only house in that area with a router, your neighbours are less likely to figure out who is showing them that message. This is much like leaving a sticky note on your neighbour’s door anonymously.

Wireless names can also be used to share your contact information with neighbours.

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How to Connect an iPhone to a Bluetooth Device

Bluetooth is a fast and reliable wireless technology that allows you to connect your iPhone to a wide range of compatible devices. 

Commonly Bluetooth devices are mostly popular today, both because more and more states are requiring hands-free driving and because Bluetooth technology makes it easy to share data. Most Bluetooth devices are other smartphones, phone headsets, and computers, but items such as speakers, wireless keyboards, and fitness wristbands are becoming more popular. Even cars have Bluetooth technology today. 

Pairing, or connecting, a Bluetooth device to your iPhone is a fairly simple process.

Steps:-

1. Tap the Settings icon on your iPhone’s Home screen to launch the Settings app.

2. Tap Bluetooth

3. Slide the switch next to Bluetooth to On.

4. Your iPhone will now search for Bluetooth devices. Tap the name of a device to connect to it.

5. Your iPhone will now connect to the device or you may be asked to enter a passcode on your iPhone or the device you are connecting to. Once entered, pairing will be complete.

Also Read:- How to Connect a Speaker to Your iPhone with Bluetooth

Tips:-

• If you are asked for a passcode for your device, check the manual for the code you should use.

Warnings:-

• Make sure you know which device you are connecting to. If you allow another device access to your iPhone it may be able to access information stored on it.

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Find the Subnet Mask of your Comptuer

All computers and mobile devices in the network have an IP address and the subnet defines which network are give IP address belongs to. The subnet Masks indicate which portion of an IP address denotes the network and which portion denotes the host. The subnet mask for class C IP addresses is 255.255.255.0 and is the default subnet mask for many computers and network routers.

FIND SUBNET MASK ON WINDOWS COMPUTER

To find the subnet mask of your Windows computer, go to the Run box (Windows Key + R) and cmd to open the Command Prompt. Here you can type the command “ipconfig /all” and hit the Enter key.

The Subnet Mask will be listed as one of the parameters in the output under “Ethernet Adapters – Local Area Connection.” Alternatively, you open Control Panel – Network & Internet -> Network and Sharing Center -> Local Area Connection and click the Details button. Here you’ll see the IPv4 Subnet Mask along with other details like the default gateway and DNS servers.

FIND SUBNET MASK ON YOUR MAC

The process for finding the Subnet Mask is slightly less complicated on a Mac. Click the Apple icon and open System Preferences -> Network.

From the Location drop-down list, select Automatic and select your Ethernet connection or Airport if you are connect to the Wi-Fi. Click the Advanced button, configure IPv4 using DHCP and you should see the Subnet Mask value on the screen.

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What’s the IP Address of my Router?

Whether you are looking to upgrade the firmware of your existing router or need to secure your Wireless network with an even stronger password, you first need to know the exact IP address of the router in order to access the various settings.

Now the default IP address of most routers is either 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 but in some cases you might have changed the default IP address at the time of installation and unfortunately, you do not remember that value any more.

Not a problem. There are at least two easy ways by which you can quickly determine the IP address of your router.

FIND THE IP ADDRESS OF ROUTER ON WINDOWS

Option #1 – Go to Start – > Run and enter the following command in the Run box.

cmd /k ipconfig

The IP address listed under “Default Gateway” is your router’s IP address.

Option #2 – Open the Run box again and type the traceroute command as shown below:

cmd /k tracert www.labnol.org

The IP Address listed at the first hop in the traceroute log is your router’s IP address.

FIND THE IP ADDRESS OF ROUTER ON MAC

If you are using a Mac, the process to determine the router’s IP address is slightly different. Open the Terminal app and run the following command:

route -n get default

Note the value of “default gateway” – that’s the address of your router.

If nothing works, you might have to reset the router to factory defaults and this will change its IP address back to 192.168.1.1 (Google the name of your router model for the exact value).

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How to Secure Your Wireless (Wi-Fi) Home Network

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.

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.

This practice, also known as piggybacking, is bad for three reasons:

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

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

* It can create a security hazard* as others may hack your computers and access your personal files through your own wireless network.

[*] 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. 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.

HOW TO SECURE YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK

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.

Here a few simple things that you should to secure your wireless network:

STEP 1. OPEN YOUR ROUTER SETTINGS PAGE

First, you need to know how to access your wireless router’s settings. 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. This is different for each router, so first check your router’s user manual.

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. 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.

STEP 2. CREATE A UNIQUE PASSWORD ON YOUR ROUTER

Once you have logged into your router, the first thing you should do to secure your network is to change the default password* of the router to something more secure.

This will prevent others from accessing the router and you can easily maintain the security settings that you want. You can change the password from the Administration settings on your router’s settings page. The default values are generally admin / password.

[*] What do the bad guys use – This is a public database of default usernames and passwords of wireless routers, modems, switches and other networking equipment. For instance, anyone can easily make out from the database that the factory-default settings for Linksys equipment can be accessed by using admin for both username and password fields.

STEP 3. CHANGE YOUR NETWORK’S SSID NAME

The SSID (or Wireless Network Name) of your Wireless Router is usually pre-defined as “default” or is set as the brand name of the router (e.g., linksys). Although this will not make your network inherently* more secure, changing the SSID name of your network is a good idea as it will make it more obvious for others to know which network they are connecting to.

This setting is usually under the basic wireless settings in your router’s settings page. Once this is set, you will always be sure that you are connecting to the correct Wireless network even if there are multiple wireless networks in your area. Don’t use your name, home address or other personal information in the SSID name.

[*] What do the bad guys use – Wi-Fi scanning tools like inSSIDer (Windows) and Kismet (Mac, Linux) are free and they will allow anyone to find all the available Wireless Networks in an area even if the routers are not broadcasting their SSID name.

STEP 4. ENABLE NETWORK ENCRYPTION

In order to prevent other computers in the area from using your internet connection, you need to encrypt your wireless signals.

There are several encryption methods for wireless settings, including WEP, WPA (WPA-Personal), and WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2). WEP is basic encryption and therefore least secure (i.e., it can be easily cracked*, but is compatible with a wide range of devices including older hardware, whereas WPA2 is the most secure but is only compatible with hardware manufactured since 2006.

To enable encryption on your Wireless network, open the wireless security settings on your router’s configuration page. This will usually let you select which security method you wish to choose; if you have older devices, choose WEP, otherwise go with WPA2. Enter a passphrase to access the network; make sure to set this to something that would be difficult for others to guess, and consider using a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters in the passphrase.

[*] What do the bad guys use – AirCrack and coWPAtty are some free tools that allow even non-hackers to crack the WEP / WPA (PSK) keys using dictionary or brute force techniques. AirCrack may be easily used to break WiFi encryption using a jail-broken iPhone or an iPod Touch.

STEP 5. FILTER MAC ADDRESSES

Whether you have a laptop or a Wi-Fi enabled mobile phone, all your wireless devices have a unique MAC address (this has nothing to do with an Apple Mac) just like every computer connected to the Internet has a unique IP address. For an added layer of protection, you can add the MAC addresses of all your devices to your wireless router’s settings so that only the specified devices can connect to your Wi-Fi network.

MAC addresses are hard-coded into your networking equipment, so one address will only let that one device on the network. It is, unfortunately, possible to spoof a MAC address*, but an attacker must first know one of the MAC addresses of the computers that are connected to your Wireless network before he can attempt spoofing.

To enable MAC address filtering, first make a list of all your hardware devices that you want to connect to your wireless network**. Find their MAC addresses, and then add them to the MAC address filtering in your router’s administrative settings. You can find the MAC address for your computers by opening Command Prompt and typing in “ipconfig /all”, which will show your MAC address beside the name “Physical Address”. You can find the MAC addresses of Wireless mobile phones and other portable devices under their network settings, though this will vary for each device.

[*] What do the bad guys use – Someone can change the MAC address of his or her own computer and can easily connect to your network since your network allows connection from devices that have that particular MAC address. Anyone can determine the MAC address of your device wireless using a sniffing tool like Nmap and he can then change the MAC address of his own computer using another free tool like MAC Shift.

STEP 6. REDUCE THE RANGE OF THE WIRELESS SIGNAL

If your wireless router has a high range but you are staying in a small studio apartment, you can consider decreasing the signal range by either changing the mode of your router to 802.11g (instead of 802.11n or 802.11b) or use a different wireless channel.

You can also try placing the router under the bed, inside a shoe box or wrap a foil around the router antennas so that you can somewhat restrict the direction of signals.

Apply the Anti-Wi-Fi Paint – Researchers have developed a special Wi-Fi blocking paint that can help you stop neighbors from accessing your home network without you having to set up encryption at the router level. The paint contains chemicals that blocks radio signals by absorbing them. “By coating an entire room, Wi-Fi signals can’t get in and, crucially, can’t get out.”

STEP 7. UPGRADE YOUR ROUTER’S FIRMWARE

You should check the manufacturer’s site occasionally to make sure that your router is running the latest firmware. You can find the existing firmware version of your router using from the router’s dashboard at 192.168.*.

CONNECT TO YOUR SECURE WIRELESS NETWORK

To conclude, MAC Address filtering with WPA2 (AES) encryption (and a really complex passphrase) is probably the best way to secure your wireless network.

Once you have enabled the various security settings in your wireless router, you need to add the new settings to your computers and other wireless devices so that they all can connect to the Wi-Fi network. You can select to have your computer automatically connect to this network, so you won’t have to enter the SSID, passphrase and   other information every time you connect to the Internet.

Your wireless network will now be a lot more secure and intruders may have a tough time intercepting your Wi-Fi signals.

WHO IS CONNECTED TO YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK

If you are worried that an outsider may be connecting to the Internet using your Wireless network, try AirSnare – it’s a free utility that will look for unexpected MAC addresses on your Wireless network as well as to DHCP requests. Another option is that you open your router’s administration page (using the 192.168.* address) and look for the DHCP Clients Table (it’s under Status > Local Network on Linksys routers). Here you will see a list of all computers and wireless devices that are connected to your home network.

*It is also a good idea to turn off the router completely when you are not planning to use the computer for a longer period (like when you are out shopping). You save on electricity and the door remains 100% shut for wireless piggybackers.

**If you ever want to let a new device connect to your network, you will have to find its MAC address and add it to your router. If you simple want to let a friend connect to your wireless network one time, you can remove his MAC address from the router settings when he or she leaves your place.

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