Introduction

Wireless networks are becoming more and more popular. Wireless network boards are already a standard accessory in the most recent notebook models. Several models of routers – a peripheral that allows you to share your broadband Internet with several computers – are now manufactured with an antenna for Wireless network, allowing the sharing of your Internet connection not only with computers connected to the router by cable, but also to those that have antennas for Wireless network.

Such router can be installed very easily. All you have to do is to plug your broadband connection to the connector called WAN and the computers of your house or office to one of the ports called LAN, do a basic configuration for the type of broadband connection that you have (ADSL or cable) and you’re done, everything will be working. If your router has an antenna too, the computers next to it that have an antenna for Wireless network will be connect to the Internet and your local network will work perfectly too.

And here is the danger. Most users get so excited that their Wireless connection worked seamlessly that they forget about a very important detail. Each and every computer with antenna for Wireless network installed in the are will have access to their network. That includes your neighbor's computers and those of hackers stalking the data of your network, or at least enjoying the possibility of surfing the web for free (for you are the one who pays the bill). Reports of hackers who walk the streets of the great urban centers carrying their notebooks hunting for Wireless networks without any kind of protection are more and more common.

To solve this problem, you need to enable the WEP cryptography, both in your Wireless router and in the computers that have Wireless boards. Enabling the WEP cryptography will encrypt the communication of your network and only those who have access to the cryptographic key will have access to it.

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