wireless

[lsb22156]

How do I lock my wireless from outside users

[smith6612]

Simply set up your Wireless router to use encryption. If you're using a Verizon-provided Westell or ActionTec router, it should already have some basic encryption settings configured to keep people out of the network. This would be called WEP Encryption. WEP is very weak though, and can be cracked in a matter of seconds so I strongly suggest using WPA2-PSK AES Encryption. If that isn't available, at minimum use WPA-PSK TKIP Encryption with a long password.

If that's too complicated to understand, simply tell us what Router you are currently using. We can help you verify that everything is set up how it should be set up.

[jmw1950]

While Smith6612's answer is technically correct, the more basic question is what are you are trying to protect?

If all you are worried about is a neighbor or someone on the street connecting to your wireless network, than almost any security will be adequate, Something as simple as MAC authentication, or turning off the SSID broadcast  would be adequate.

WEP may be weak, but if you have it, your neighbors or people on the street will simply look for another network with no security to use instead of yours. So unless there is something valuable moving over your wireless network, nobody is likely to invest the effort to even break WEP. If they are just looking for an available network, they will simply pick another neighbor that runs an unsecured network. There is no shortage of unsecured Wireless networks in most neighborhoods.

To the casual user, 64 bit WEP is as effective as WPA2 in keeping the 'Data Tourists' out.

At the other end of spectrum, a truly determined hacker will eventually break even WPA2. Ultimately nothing will keep them out.

Most residential users however don't have data that is valuable enough to merit that kind of effort. So even the basics like turning off the SSID broadcast, WEP or MAC authentication will keep 99.9% of the 'tourists' out...