Securing WLAN – 9 Wireless Security Tips
Is Your WLAN Secure Enough for Business Applications?
WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks) have led to convenient workplace productivity while on the go within the institution as well as within the common home. While this mobile technology has been helping businesses and households alike, a common threat remains. One major threat is commonly known as “middleman” interception. Along with the threat of interception of valuable data by a third person or program, there also lies the common threat of viruses and malware installations that can take place as well.
WLANS use radio waves to transmit data, because of these radio waves it is not an unconceivable threat for a cybercriminal to use a receiving device to gain access to your computer files or upload malicious hacking, virus, or spyware programming. If you work from home at times, these programs can go viral and attack other network systems that you later become in contact with in respects to your computing device including your own business network.
What this could mean to you as well as your network include identity theft (yourself and customer database), server destruction, network shut downs, and more ugly scenarios. The shocking statistic is that more than 60% of WLAN users are unprotected entirely!
By following some of these tips you can better help protect your computing devices from becoming ticking time bombs. Security in a wireless age is nothing short of a necessity. These tips should be implemented immediately in your office and place of business or you may one day soon face dire consequences.
Security Tip 1 - Make sure all administrative passwords on your wireless routers and your access points are secure. The best way to secure passwords is to create your own passwords using a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters (don’t spell things), numbers, and symbols of at least 10 key strokes. Do not share your passwords, do not use birth dates, and if possible … change your passwords every month.
Security Tip 2 – Make sure you have enabled 128-bit WEP encryption at the minimal on all devices. Make sure your WEP keys are changed tri-annually. While this security level is considered minimal, without at least 128-bit WEP, you are an easy target.
Security Tip 3 – On your access points and routers use password like user names that are complex and uneasy to guess on your default SSID. The security keyword is “default”. Make sure you have your computers point to the SSID as your default.
Security Tip 4 – If available on your router equipment and computers, make sure that the settings are set to not broadcast your SSID.Security
Tip 5 – Have all wireless cards installed on computers set to allow only access to access point networks. This also means no P2P access! Have all anonymous requests and pings blocked ASAP.
Security Tip 6 – Make sure you have MAC filtering enabled and allow only MAC addresses that are registered to your network.
Security Tip 7 – Make sure the routers are firewall enabled. Firewall on computers can help as well.
Security Tip 8 – Make sure your router’s firmware is always up to date. Firmware often will tackle additional security risks so it is imperative to have this updated as often as possible. Weekly at the minimum.
Security Tip 9 – Reduce the temptation of wrongdoers by weakening your WLAN signals outside of your premises. This is most easily done by having the routers away from windows and enclosed within walls of your building.
For network Internet connectivity for businesses visit our business Internet page at http://topsavings.net/business-internet-phone/internet/
Leave a commentFunny Spam – The F.B.I. Has a Private Lotterey
FUNNY SCAM ALERT
I awoke this morning to check my emails which means I have to also check my SPAM folder due to all of the aggressive filters. Ultimately, if I don’t read through every spam headline I miss important emails sometimes. Well when I saw the email address from info@fbi.gov, it grabbed my attention.
I had to open it to make sure I wasn’t somehow in trouble with the F.B.I. and wow, to my surprise I am the winner of the F.B.I. lottery! Ha ha ha, I hope nobody falls for this, but if they do … they deserve it.
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FUNNY SCAM ALERT
Washington Field Office Banner with FBI Seal linking to FBI Home
Anti-Terrorist and International Fraud Division.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation.
Seattle, Washington.
Telephone Number : (206) 973-2572
ATTN: BENEFICIARY
This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have thoroughly completed an Investigation with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network System that you legally won the sum of $800,000.00 US Dollars from a Lottery Company outside the United States of America. During our investigation we discovered that your e-mail won the money from an Online Balloting System and we have authorized this winning to be paid to you via a Certified Cashier’s Check.
Normally, it will take up to 10 business days for an International Check to be cashed by your local bank. We have successfully notified this company on your behalf that funds are to be drawn from a registered bank within the United States Of America so as to enable you cash the check instantly without any delay, henceforth the stated amount of $800,000.00 US Dollars has been deposited with Bank Of America.
We have completed this investigation and you are hereby approved to receive the winning prize as we have verified the entire transaction to be Safe and 100% risk free, due to the fact that the funds have been deposited at Bank Of America you will be required to settle the following bills directly to the Lottery Agent in-charge of this transaction whom is located in Lagos, Nigeria. According to our discoveries, you were required to pay for the following -
(1) Deposit Fee’s ( Fee’s paid by the company for the deposit into an American Bank which is – Bank Of America )
(2) Cashier’s Check Conversion Fee ( Fee for converting the Wire Transfer payment into a Certified Cashier’s Check )
(3) Shipping Fee’s ( This is the charge for shipping the Cashier’s Check to your home address and this fee includes Insurance )
The total amount for everything is $200.00 (Two Hundred-US Dollars). We have tried our possible best to indicate that this $200.00 should be deducted from your winning prize but we found out that the funds have already been deposited at Bank Of America and cannot be accessed by anyone apart from you the winner, therefore you will be required to pay the required fee’s to the Agent in-charge of this transaction via Western Union Money Transfer Or Money Gram.
In order to proceed with this transaction, you will be required to contact the agent in-charge ( JAMES MOORE) via e-mail. Kindly look below to find appropriate contact information:
CONTACT AGENT NAME: MR. JAMES MOORE
E-MAIL ADDRESS: revjamesmoore@aol.com
Telephone Number : +234-813-822-3603
You will be required to e-mail him with the following information:
FULL NAME:
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
AGE/SEX:
DIRECT CONTACT NUMBER:
FUNNY SCAM ALERT
You will also be required to request Western Union details on how to send the required $200.00 in order to immediately ship your prize of $800,000.00 US Dollars via Certified Cashier’s Check drawn from Bank Of America, also include the following transaction code in order for him to immediately identify this transaction : EA2948-910.
This letter will serve as proof that the Federal Bureau Of Investigation is authorizing you to pay the required $200.00 ONLY to Mr. Benson Edward via information in which he shall send to you, if you do not receive your winning prize of $800,000.00 US Dollars we shall be held responsible for the loss and this shall invite a penalty of $3,000 which will be made PAYABLE ONLY to you (The Winner).
Please find below an authorized signature which has been signed by the FBI Director- Robert Mueller, also below is the FBI NSB (National Security Branch) seal.
FBI Director
Robert Mueller.
NSB Seal
Authorized Signature
NSB SEAL ABOVE
NOTE: In order to ensure your check gets delivered to you ASAP, you are advised to immediately contact Mr. JAMES MOORE via contact information provided above and make the required payment of $200.00 to information in which he shall provide to you.
