User's Manual

Chapter 2
Wireless Security Checklist
3
Ch
apter 2:
Wire
l
ess Securit
y
C
h
ec
kl
is
t
W
ire
l
ess networ
k
s are convenient an
d
eas
y
to insta
ll
, so
homes with hi
g
h-speed Internet access are adoptin
g
them
a
t a rapid pace. Because wireless networking operates by
sending in
f
ormation over radio waves, it can be more
v
u
ln
e
r
ab
l
e
to
in
t
r
ude
r
s
t
h
a
n
a
t
r
ad
i
t
i
o
n
a
l wir
ed
n
et
w
o
rk
.
Like signals from your cellular or cordless phones, signals
f
rom
y
our wireless network can also be intercepted. Since
y
ou cannot ph
y
sicall
y
prevent someone
f
rom connecting
to your wireless network, you need to take some additional
steps to
k
eep
y
our networ
k
secure.
1. Change the default wireless
network name or SSID
W
ireless devices have a default wireless network name
or Service Set Identi
f
ier (SSID) set b
y
the
f
actor
y
. This is
the name o
f
y
our wireless network, and can be up to 32
characters in length. Linksys by Cisco wireless products
use
l
in
k
s
y
s as the de
f
ault wireless network name. You
should chan
g
e the wireless network name to somethin
g
u
nique to distinguish your wireless network from other
wire
l
ess networ
k
s t
h
at ma
y
exist aroun
d
y
ou,
b
ut
d
o not
u
se personal in
f
ormation (such as
y
our Social Securit
y
n
umber) because this information may be available for
a
n
y
one to see when browsing
f
or wireless networks.
2. Change the default password
For wire
l
ess pro
d
ucts suc
h
as access points, routers, an
d
m
odem routers,
y
ou will be asked
f
or a password when
you want to change their settings. These devices have a
de
f
ault password set b
y
the
f
actor
y
. The de
f
ault password
is
ad
min. Hackers know these de
f
aults and ma
y
tr
y
to
u
se them to access your wireless device and change your
n
etwor
k
settings. To t
h
wart an
y
unaut
h
orize
d
c
h
anges,
customize the device’s password so it will be hard to
guess.
3. Enable MAC address filtering
Linksys by Cisco routers and modem routers give you
t
h
e a
b
i
l
it
y
to ena
bl
e Me
d
ia Access Contro
l
(MAC) a
dd
ress
f
ilterin
g
. The MAC address is a unique series o
f
numbers
a
nd letters assigned to every networking device. With
MAC address
f
iltering enabled, wireless network access
i
s provided solel
y
f
or wireless devices with speci
f
ic MAC
a
ddresses. For example, you can specify the MAC address
o
f
each computer in
y
our home so that onl
y
those
computers can access
y
our wireless network.
4. Enable encryption
Encr
y
ption protects
d
ata transmitte
d
over a wire
l
ess
net
w
o
rk
.
Wi-Fi Pr
otected
A
ccess
™
(
WP
A
™
/
WPA2
™
)
and
W
ired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) offer different levels o
f
securit
y
f
or wireless communication
.
A
network encr
y
pted with WP
A
™
/
WPA
2
™
is
m
o
r
e
secure than a network encrypted with WEP, because
W
P
A
™
/
WPA
2
™
uses
dy
namic
k
e
y
encr
y
ption. To protect
the in
f
ormation as it passes over the airwaves,
y
ou should
enable the highest level of encryption supported by your
n
etwor
k
equipment.
W
EP is an older encr
y
ption standard and ma
y
be the
only option available on some older devices that do not
support WP
A
™
.
Genera
l
Networ
k
Securit
y
Gui
d
e
l
ine
s
W
ireless network security is useless if the underlying
n
etwor
k
is not secure.
s
Password protect all computers on the network and
i
ndividually password protect sensitive files
.
s
C
h
ange passwor
d
s on a regu
l
ar
b
asis
.
s
Install anti-virus so
f
tware and personal
f
irewall
software.
s
Disable
f
ile sharing (peer-to-peer). Some applications
m
a
y
open
f
ile sharing without
y
our consent and/or
knowledge.
Additional Security Tip
s
s
Keep wireless routers, access points, or modem routers
a
way from exterior walls and windows.
s
T
urn wire
l
ess routers, access points, or mo
d
em routers
o
ff
when the
y
are not being used (at night, during
vacations)
.
s
Use strong passp
h
rases t
h
at are at
l
east eig
h
t c
h
aracters
i
n len
g
th. Combine letters and numbers to avoid usin
g
standard words that can be found in the dictionary.
WEB: For more in
f
ormation on wireless securit
y
,
v
i
s
i
t
www.linksysbycisco.com/security