Enhance security for Wi-Fi networks

People are often used to having Wi-Fi networks at home or at the office, but few people have a real view of it. This can be said to bring good news and bad news: good news because the network has to be active, but the bad news is that it is almost too slow to adjust and check the network security level. Following these steps can help your wireless network work stably as well as keep data and connections secure.

Optimize Wi-Fi network for VoIP, Video and games

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If Skype or Second Life chats begin to be interrupted, or when streaming audio streams from iTunes are clogged, you can improve these problems without having to purchase new routers. Most routers sold last year have quality of service (QoS) characteristics, but you must update the base software for the router to activate it. For example, the Linksys router configuration program has a QoS tab under 'Applications & Gaming' (first make sure to enable ' WMM Support' as shown in the picture).

Selecting QoS applications

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Turn on Internet access priority with voice and media applications. First, select each item from the drop-down list.

Priority packets

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Then, select High , Normal ( Normal ), Medium ( Medium ) or Low ( Low ) and click the 'Add' button. For example, you set low priority to file download programs like BitTorrent or other download services and special privileges for VoIPc service. Note that the Linksys utility also gives priority to voice devices that VoIP phones connect directly to the network. Not all routers can give priority to specific applications and devices, but at least turn on QoS or WMM to automatically optimize the traffic flow; On many routers this feature is not set by default.

Turn off Wi-Fi when not in use

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It is best to turn off the notebook's Wi-Fi adapter completely when you are not using it. This way to protect the computer from accidentally connecting to a dangerous point, and also increasing battery life. Some new computers have a hardware button that disables Wi-Fi or otherwise can be turned off on Windows XP by clicking the wireless network icon on the system tray and selecting 'Disable' .

Enable Wi-Fi on Windows XP

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Disabling the adapter removes its icon in the system tray. To restore on XP, open 'Network Connections' in Control Panel and double-click on the wireless connection.

Enable / Disable Wi-Fi on Windows Vista

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To enable or disable the Wi-Fi adapter in Vista, open the 'Network and Sharing Center' section in Control Panel and select 'View status' under the 'Connections' section . If you use its adapter software in either Windows XP or Vista, you may need to use this software to turn the adapter on or off.

Track intrusions on Wi-Fi networks

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Strangers can hide in your home Wi-Fi network. Do not think you are protected by Wi-Fi encryption. Encryption - especially WEP can completely be broken and even pass the MAC address filter. To kill these uninvited attackers, download and install the Network Magic software for free. The program offers a map that maps all computers, media servers, printers and other devices in the network. Anything listed that you can't identify is likely to be a potential danger.

Receive notifications when connecting new devices

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The Network Magic window is not always open unless you set it to pop up a notification whenever a new device connects to the network, so you can capture the intrusion right from the start. . Select 'Options' from the 'Tools' menu , click the 'Notifications' tab, and click 'A new device joins the network' .

Keep track of new devices

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Finally, click the 'Security' tab and select the 'Automatically track new devices as Intruders' checkbox when you can track all devices' activities. This is especially useful in case you don't sit on the computer when an intrusion occurs.

Share access point

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Linksys' Wireless-G Travel router has one key feature that no other device has, which is the ability to share Wi-Fi or connect wires via a secured Wi-Fi network.

Use Wi-Fi to share Wi-Fi

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To share a Wi-Fi connection, simply turn on the router, connect to it via Wi-Fi and open the configuration utility on your browser. Select the access point you want to connect to from the available network list (eg 'T-Mobile'), click the ' Select' button. Open a new browser window and log in to the access point, perform all necessary operations. Other computers that connect to the Linksys Travel Router will also be connected to that access point without further action.

Secure access point connections

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Hackers love to attack common access points. Networks lack the correct encryption because they need to be open for everyone to use. Unless you use virtual private network (VPN) software, anyone can see all the wireless Internet traffic you use, including passwords and emails. If you haven't access to VPN yet, the best free VPN software is Hotspot Shield of AnchorFree. Download and install this software and the screen display interface as in the browser. Click 'Run Hotspot Shield' and the program will start protecting your computer.

Turn off VPN of Hotspot Shield

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To turn off Hotspot Shield, right-click the green screen icon on the system tray and click 'Disconnect' . The screen will turn red, indicating that the VPN is disconnected. To reactivate, right-click again and select 'Connect' .

Ad supported VPN

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While connecting, select 'Properties' from the system tray icon to see what the current IP address is. Although Hotspot Shield is free, it puts an ad above the browser when surfing the web. But this is only a small price for hotspot security. You can even use this program with your home network if your network is at risk.

Disable peer-to-peer Wi-Fi (Ad-Hoc)

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One of the most popular Wi-Fi security threats comes from malicious networks called "Ad-hoc" Wi-Fi connections that spread from other computers. For example, an attacker can sit at the airport and start broadcasting the SSID called 'T-Mobile' or 'Free Wi-Fi' that the Wi-Fi adapter can automatically connect to. Or you can accidentally click on it, thus allowing access to the computer. Most people rarely need to connect directly to another computer via Wi-Fi, so it's best to disable this feature. On Windows XP, open 'Network Connection' in Control Panel, right-click on the wireless adapter and select 'Properties' .

Configure Windows XP to Disable Ad-Hoc networks

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Select the 'Wireless Networks' tab and then click the ' Advanced' button.

Remove Ad-Hoc networks

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Finally, click 'Access point (infrastructure) networks only', be sure to check 'Automatically connect to non-preferred networks'. Close the dialog box and save the changes. With Vista, you do not need to interrupt ad-hoc networks but must manually choose to connect to an ad-hoc network at the first time.