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When you first get your wireless router, you may be very excited to get started with enjoying browsing the internet and checking your email from the comfort of your living room couch. Before you go “live” with your wireless setup, however, make sure you take these few steps to ensure security on your wireless network.

This is the first guide in a series of guides about Wireless Network Security. Look for more guides to follow.

For step-by-step instructions with screenshots, check out the other tutorials specifically about these topics on this site.

1. Change the default SSID.
The defalt SSID or name on a Linksys router is Linksys. Change the name to something else such as “JohnSmith” or “JoeDoe”. Hackers see the name linksys and assume that people who didn’t take the time to change the out of the box name probably didn’t take the time to take advantage of the other security features on their router.

2. Disable the SSID broadcast.
The SSID broadcast allows a wireless computer to “know” that the signal is there. With the SSID set to “on”, the router will send out a signal that the router with the name “JohnSmith” (for example) is present and is broadcasting. This means that if someone is walking by (especially if you live in an apartment), they’d be able to see that there is a wireless router, named JohnSmith that is broadcasting a signal. With the SSID set to off, a passer by looking for a connection would not see your router. *. *Someone who REALLY knows what they are doing could discover your signal even with the SSID broadcast set to off, but turning it off will keep out most casual people. This is one of the reasons you should use multiple security measures to protect your wireless network.

It’s ok to leave the signal on when you are setting up a wireless computer to use the router (with the signal on, your laptop will easily locate the router and the signal). Once you are done setting up the connection, however, your computer will “remember” that it’s looking for the router named JohnSmith. So at this point it a good idea to disable the SSID broadcast. Since your wireless computer already knows that the signal is there, there’s no reason to let other people (especially those searching for a connection) know that your router is there.

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