FAQ | Wireless routers require security

Question: I have read about the need to protect one's network from laptop users who can log into and use your network if it is unprotected.

How does one protect one's network from intruders? - Len Gottesman, Bryn Mawr

A: If you have a wireless router at the heart of your network and have not instituted security measures, you could be in for a heap of difficulties.

Neighbors can use your network to log on to the Internet, drastically slowing down your own connection speeds.

Less-than-honest neighbors - or criminals cruising your neighborhood - could invade PCs connected wirelessly to the network, and steal data, plant viruses, or use the computers to distribute spam.

There are at least two steps you should take to secure your network.

Doing so is largely a matter of changing some settings in the built-in software that controls your router.

Use encryption so ...