Wireless DSL: How To Protect Your Wifi Connection

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:13:14 +0000

I personally think that sharing with other people one’s knowledge and resources is a good thing. In fact, projects like FON (organized wireless connection sharing) attract me, by the way I am aware that many families have a wifi ADSL router without the least idea of how easy it is for unknown people to connect to it at these families expenses.

Photo Credit: Mickdam

So, I’ll try to explain in the easiest way possible and with simple words, some few concepts in order to help you protecting your ADSL wireless connection and preventing unknown people from connecting and entering in your personal data.

Let’s start with a very simple thing: an 802.11g wifi router range is 100 meters. That is to say that your wifi router in our sitting-room is sending a signal reachable even from the road.

What shall we protect in a wireless ADSL connection?

It could sound a silly question, but in the effectiveness it is not: an open and unsafe wifi connection means two different risks:

An ADSL connection unauthorized use
A data wiretapping between your PC and your modem or router

In the first case the risk you run is that someone, in 100 meters range, can connect to your PC with his, then surfing free! The consequence will be that you will pay all his operations and connections! And in case his ADSL use is illegal that will cause you countless troubles too!

In the second case, instead, the risk you are running is that someone very close to you (maybe even a neighbor), is able to catch all data sent by your wifi router to your pc meanwhile you are surfing the net. So, try to imagine how many risks you run whenever you enter any personal data as for instance credit cards numbers, remote banking account, and so on.

So, there are two levels protection for a wireless network:

Preventing anyone from surfing the net using your wireless router;
Preventing anyone from wire-tapping your net surfing data (as cryptate with a password your connection).

You can either use one or both protections.

How to prevent anyone to use our wireless ADSL

The easiest and really working way to prevent anyone from using our wireless modem is to arrange our modem in order that it can recognize all connection authorized PCs, accepting to connect to these ones only.

For this use we can set an identification code for any PC (or any device as well) which is authorized to a MAC Address connection: we can consider MAC Address as a sort of plate that identifies the net adapter used by our Pc for an internet connection. In few words: a PC can have a cable and a wifi card internet connection, so in this case our PC will have two different MAC addresses, one is for ehernet (cable connection) and the other is for the wireless connection.

Of course, we should consider the wireless card MAC Address only.

How to get MAC Address

Usually you can find Mac Addresses written on notebooks labels, in your laptop lower position. Whenever it is absent, you can follow this guide.

How to cryptate Wifi connection

Another shrewdness is the audio signal cryptation, coming from your router and using a password. Cryptation techniques are usually identified in WEP and WPA abbreviations. The system is a very simple one: the router is configured by a password crypting the signal. Only the computers with access to that password can:

Connect to the router

Surf the net thanks to that connection

Of course cryptation solves the first trouble as well, as without password you can’t connect. But, for a reliable protection you should use both methods as:

You can force a MAC Address on your PC (entering as if you were authorized and so skirting MAC filter)

It is possible to hack the password of wi-fi signal (and then you can surf undisturbed using a wifi ADSL of anyone).

You can then even expand the protection subject about wireless connections on your own , but if you do what just listed here above you have the guarantee of a good level safety even at home.

Video Guide To Home Wireless Security

Wireless DSL: Top 10 Tricks To Limit Wifi Speed Loss

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:05:46 +0000

Internet home and office wifi connections are very useful but few ones know that they can produce a serious speed loss. But when using Ethernet cable this never happens. Speed loss can be remarkable in case of ADSL2+ connections, which can even reach 20Mbps!

Photo credit: tforgo

As much as about me, I’ve got a 10 Mbps ADSL line: by cable I can download up to 8Mbps. On the contrary, when I have a wireless connection its speed seriously falls down to 4Mbps.

As a consequence, I have a 50% loss in efficiency and money. Therefore, I started a research to verify if and how it is possible to improve all wifi ADSL connections.

Why wifi connections are slower?

The lower efficiency of wireless connection in comparison to the cable one are mainly 3:

Various Interferences
Wifi signal direction
Any device setting (router and wifi net cards)

Obviously a 640 Kbps ADSL connection managed by a wifi router is less sensible to any interference than a 20Mbps one, like, for instance, the effect of wind on slower or faster cars. For this reason new ADSL2+ connections can consistently have a drop in their power.

10 tricks to improve ADSL2+ speed in wireless mode

The following ones are the main points to pay attention to for improving net efficiency and to limit speed (and money!) loss in your hotspot for connections higher than 4 Mbps.

Test router compatibility with ADSL2+.
That’s the connection standard on high speed duplex cable.
Always up-to-date your router firmware with the latest available version.
Before my line always fell down, but now after its updating it perfectly works!
Enable the ADLS2+ mode on your router.
On my Zyxel 660 HW this option is named Enable Wireless g+ .
Use the net only in 802.11g or 802.11n mode.
Either router and wifi net cards are normally set to use both 802.11g and 802.11b. The first one is definitely faster than the second one (up to 54 Mbps). You should force router and net cards to use the first one: search in the 802.11 mode.
If you have a 2.4 GHz cordless phone change it.
It has the same hotspot frequency, so it can disturb. Take a 900Mhz or 5.8GHz one.
Choose the most efficient transmission channel.
Some interferences can take place on definite channels. Change transmission channel (Channel ID) on the router running speed tests to find the faster channel.
Put the access point in the center of the requested area.
I know it isn’t always possible to do this, but try at least to keep the antenna far from your home side-walls.
Cover the omni-directional antenna top with some silver paper if you don’t need connection on the upper floor.
Think of buying a directional antenna.
If you are forced to use the wireless router on your home side-walls, check first if the omnidirectional antenna is removable. If so, substitute it with a directional one (it is not expensive), pointing it towards the inside of your home.
Verify the absence of any intruder connected to your router.
One day I discovered that the cause of my connection slowness was a certain Giusy78 that was connected to my line saturating my band. So, protect your wireless net system.

Conventional and…unconventional tricks

Here you can have a do-it-yourself amplified antenna and replace it to your router one just using a screw, a piece of lead and a straw. But consider the fact of destroying your router!