Wireless networks sound very appealing and in many ways they are. A wireless network can provide you with the convenience of not having to be plugged into the wall when at your computer. Wireless networks allow you to gain access to the information that you want where you want it and more and more people are finding that they simply cannot function as efficiently as they need to without a wireless network in their home. With that said, it is also vital in importance that the user of a wireless network understands that there are risks associated with having a wireless network installed. As long as you do your research ahead of time and take precautionary steps to ensure your security on your network once you have become wireless, you should be able to enjoy the benefits of wireless technology with as few worries as possible.
Cost and Performance
The cost of setting up a wireless network largely depends on the cost of a wireless card. Cards range in value usually anywhere between $170-$250 but there are also wireless cards that are sold used or as a past model at a discount. The performance of a wireless card lies largely on its signal range. Although it is natural to think that an increased range and signal strength are good things, depending on your situation, such features could increase the level of risks that you face. You do not want a signal range that reaches further than the walls of your house. If your signal is too powerful, people such as your neighbors and even someone sitting on the street outside of your house can tap into your wireless network connection and have access to information that you would rather have remain confidential.
Wireless Network Safety
There are issues of wireless safety that are synonymous with the safety issues that you should already be using on your computer. You need to be sure that you are using firewalls, antivirus protection and encryption. With wireless networks, encryption is particularly important and you will want to adjust your network settings to be able to use the best and most compatible encryption method available. Dangers that are newly presented when you set up your wireless network include weakness if you fail to change your default administrator passwords. There will be several administrator access points that are given default names or passwords simply for the ease that it provides the administrator for mass production and assistance in set up. Once you have been successful in setting up your wireless network you need to very cautiously go through your settings and individualize any passwords that may currently be set to a default name. Failure to do this will easily allow any knowledgeable hacker to simply use one of the known default passwords to gain access to your wireless system and the information contained therein.
New Wireless Products
There is new technology born everyday. You need to at least make yourself aware of these wireless network innovations in the case that you need to make an update to your system for security reasons. For many of the same reasons why you would not be satisfied with setting up a firewall once and then never updating it, you will want to keep your eyes and ears open to any new security features designed to make your wireless network a safer place to be.
So when other wireless users think that all they need to know about wireless networks is how to set them up, you can provide them with these helpful tips that could really keep them out of trouble if the right dangers were to present themselves.
