Should I encrypt my wireless router?

[exeter_lad]

What if someone locks YOU out?

If your router is open, then anyone can log on to it and set up an admin password preventing you from doing anything on it. Even worse, they can set up encryption so that only they can access it. Then you would definitely need to read your handbook!

Not convinced. I know of someone who did it

 

[Greg Masters]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll probably do this over the weekend when I have more time.

So if you need to download some dodgy porn, park up outside Masters Towers before Saturday morning and fill yer boots.



Greg

PS It all gets turned off when I'm at work or in bed!

 

[Mike Werner]

Remember that nothing is safe, there's no total solution.

The issue with encryption is speed. Believe it or not, your response times suffer since every packet sent through the router needs to be encrypted and then decrypted. No matter how good your unit is, it will slow thing down.

I stopped using encryption since I send meag streams to my server in the US, and it was slowing things down too much.

The best defense against "normal" people (99% of the population) is using fixed IP addresses on your network coupled to MAC addresses. i.e. you tell your router that your Wii's MAC address can only use 192.168.1.xxx and do not allow any more IP address than you have computers attached to your router.

If you have 2 computers and 1 wii, allow of addresses 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.4 and disable the DHCP server, pre-configuring each computer to its own specific IP address.

Disable SSID broadcast.

This way, you've stopped 99% of the population from accessing your network, and if you get one of the 1%, than you'll get an IP conflict notification, so you'll know someone is walking around your network.