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Six Ways To Protect Your Wireless Network: Page 2 of 6

The steps you take for changing the SSID and telling your router not to broadcast the SSID varies from router manufacturer to router manufacturer. In the Linksys WRT54GX4, log into your administrator screen, and click the Wireless link. In the "Wireless Network Name (SSID):" box type in a new name for your router. In the "Wireless SSID Broadcast:" box, click Disable. Then click Save Settings.

Your router is now invisible to passersby, but it's also invisible to your own PCs on the network as well. So you need to tell them to use the new SSID. On each PC, in Windows XP SP2, click small wireless icon in the Windows System Tray and click the View Wireless Networks button. Click the "Change advanced settings" link in the left-hand column and then click the Wireless Networks tab. Click the Add button in the "Preferred network" section, type your new network name, click OK, and then click OK again. You'll now be connected to your network.

Step 2 -- Use Encryption To Keep Yourself Safe

It's this simple: You need to use encryption. Encryption keeps you safe in two different ways. First, it won't allow anyone onto your network who doesn't have the special encryption key, and so it's a way to make sure that intruders can't get it. And it also stops snoopers as well, because anyone who tries to sniff out network activity will only see garbled, meaningless characters, rather than your email, for example.

There are two encryption standards you can use to protect your network: Wireless Equivalent Protocol (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). The WEP protocol is older and less secure than WPA, so your best bet is to use WPA. But the truth is, even WEP is most likely good enough for you. It's not as if your home network has CIA-level classified secrets. So it's not likely that intruders or snoopers will want to spend large amounts of time and energy trying to break your encryption, even if it's as weak as WEP. You mainly want to use encryption to protect your network against passers-by and war drivers looking to make a little mischief.

How you set up WPA differs according to your router. In a Linksys WRT54GX4, log into your router administrator screen, click the Wireless link, then click Wireless Security. Choose your encryption method from the drop-down list, type in an encryption key, and write it down on a slip of paper, because you'll need to use it at each PC. Click Save Settings.