New or Old, Your Internet Router May Be Letting Strangers In

Is someone sneaking into your house and using your bathroom? You might never know, except that you probably keep your door locked. It's the same with your broadband Internet connection. Genie Ventures, a UK-based broadband expert, cited a recent survey by security firm Sophos, saying that 54% of people who go online have used someone else's wireless broadband without asking. Next time your Internet seems a little slow, you might be wondering if someone is using yours.

In addition to affecting your Internet speed, producing longer downloads and slower web surfing, leaving your WiFi open to outsiders will leave you vulnerable to all of the risks that using a public WiFi in a restaurant or cafe will. Many television stations have outlined these possibilities in a "risk piece," which include stealing passwords and even infecting your computer, stealing your identity, or affecting your job as you unintentionally reveal your company's secrets.

As families upgrade to broadband or get new equipment, perhaps for the holidays, it's important to remember to learn about your new router and its security features, and make the best use of them that you can. Some, like the 2Wire models, generally come already somewhat secure, while other routers are "wide open" after basic installation. A WiFi signal can carry down the street, a lot further than you'd expect, and if you're in an apartment building there are many possible users of your connection.

Broadband Genie notes that Sophos recommends using WEP or WPA encryption to make sure that the data sent to and from your WiFi router is not "in the clear" and interceptable. It's also important to choose an encryption password for your router which is not easily guessed. With the limited number of letters usable in these passwords (A-F) in addition to digits, users may be tempted to use cute choices such as "DEADBEEF," but it doesn't take many guesses to discover such a password. If you are using your home broadband as access to your corporate or university network, VPN (Virtual Private Network) access is also a useful security method.

Stores sell "sniffers" to detect WiFi networks in the area, and most laptops will automatically search for open networks which users can casually access and use if they are not secured. Even if this "bandwidth stealing" is not a problem for you, the visibility of your own data to these casual users, or the type of data they are downloading through your broadband service might move you to close your WiFi door.

http://www.prlog.org/10039270-broadband-genie-reminds-wi-fi-users-to-password-protect-their-accounts.html