Lately we've been hearing horror stories about the number of "wide open" Wi-Fi routers that can be found and exploited just by a hacker driving around town with a Pocket PC, Laptop or WiFi finder. This weekend was my first try at wardriving, and the number of open routers I found just between my house and the local grocery store was astounding
. This alerted me that an APB needed to be put out to all my Addict friends and family that you really need to lock down that home router!
Some folks have reported that they aren't encrypting their connections because it's "too hard" or it "takes too much time". Well, sit back and relax. Take a deep breath, we'll have you surfing over an encrypted connection in less than 10 minutes! 8-)
Step 1: Open your Wi-Fi router configuration control panel. This is usually accessed via a web interface. Mine is a Belkin router which takes hold of
http://192.168.2.1 <-- go ahead and click that link...it just might take you to your router
Step 2: Choose your Security Mode. Here you will want to choose 128 Bit WEP.
Step 3: On this screen you can see under Security Mode, that you have 128 Bit WEP selected. Now it's time for the part that confuses most people -- the "hard part"
You'll see it's not hard at all - but I promise, you can brag to your friends about how hard it is to do and I won't say anything
. You need to enter digits and letters into those 13 boxes and hit apply. You can enter them randomly or use the generate function to create one based on a passphrase. I used the generate function and ended up with what you see in the screen below...
Step 4: Hit Apply.
Step 5: Now is the time to connect your Pocket PC to the newly encrypted connection. Insert your WiFi card, or turn it on if it's an internal card. When the PPC detects the connection it will ask if it should connect to The Internet or to Work. Choose work if you intend to Activesync over WiFi.
Then you will see a "Network Key" request.
Step 6: Enter the same key you set on the router and hit "Connect".
Now that you see how easy it is to encrypt your own home Wi-Fi router, is there
any excuse not to follow through and do it? Take the 10 minutes and encrypt your connection -- you'll be glad you did.
Any comments?