laarni080

Unfortunately, no computer network is truly secure. It's always theoretically possible for eavesdroppers to view or "snoop" the traffic on any network, and it's often possible to add or "inject" unwelcome traffic as well. However, some networks are built and managed much more securely than others. For both wired and wireless networks alike, the real question to answer becomes - is it secure enough?

Wireless networks add an extra level of security complexity compared to wired networks. Whereas wired networks send electrical signals or pulses of light through cable, wireless radio signals propogate through the air and are naturally easier to intercept. Signals from most wireless LANs (WLANs) pass through exterior walls and into nearby streets or parking lots. Network engineers and other technology experts have closely scrutinized wireless network security because of the open-air nature of wireless communications.
The practice of wardriving, for example, exposed the vulnerabilities of home WLANs and accelerated the pace of security technology advances in home wireless equipment.

Overall, conventional wisdom holds that wireless networks are now "secure enough" to use in the vast majority of homes, and many businesses. Security features like 128-bit WEP and WPA can scramble or "encrypt" network traffic so that its contents can not easily be deciphered by snoopers. Likewise, wireless routers and access points (APs) incorporate access control features such as MAC address filtering that deny network requests from unwanted clients. Obviously every home or business must determine for themselves the level of risk they are comfortable in taking when implementing a wireless network. The better a wireless network is administered, the more secure it becomes. However, the only truly secure network is the one never built!

taiarain

As with anything else that needs to be secured, you can only be secure until a new way to breech that security is developed. Just ask the credit card industry...

arppt01

I fully agree with you taiarain. Security seems to be a temporary concept. So as long as a network is not targetted it is secure.

taiarain

LOL! Yep, you pretty much hit that nail on the head. I cracked open my laptop at my dad's condo and found a handful of wireless networks wide open. IIRC, one of them belonged to a cop.

arppt01

Well tairain I am not a network pro but it is not difficult to feel how we feel because sometimes or other you get the reports of networks being wide open.

cingularguy

Well, I hope that no one would want to infiltrate my home network. I guess the best security is not having any real enemies.

RoxyMoron

Once while demoing a camcorder at Best Buy, one of the Geek Squad guys told me that a law was going to passed that if someone did something illegal on your connection, you could be charged and fined or sent to jail! Has anyone else heard about this?

vicki2

I haven't but it wouldn't surprise me. But I also think it's why alot of people with bad intentions use the pay as you go, untraceable phones too.

Myssi

Nothing is secure, if you know what your doing there are back doors for everything. In fact even having your wireless on lock down, there are still many ways around it.

RoxyMoron

Sadly you're right. There's always some guy who is smarter than we or the computer. Either he has no life or he is really trying to get some sort of information. Kinda scary!

edh

I'm concerned about this. I've noticed a fellow with a laptop wandering around the neighborhood a few time in the past year. I've seen him sitting on the sidewalk near one particular house a block or so from mine. He sits there apparantly working on his laptop. I presume he has found an easy network.
I have network magic on my computers that supposedly monitors all computers on my connection. It says no one else has entered the network but I'm still concerned.

gizmoya

hmm wireless networks are less secure but again as said earlier it depends on your security application > firwall > av > antispyware

gizmoya

yea nothing is secure it depends on how stupid or how smart u are,
have good firewll, good anti virus and spyware protection , its secure , keep ur system updated, that it