How do I know my network is secure?

if you can access your network without a password(key) then is not secure

Unplug it, turn it off, and bury it in a concrete vault 200 feet below ground.  It is now reasonably secure.

No network is secure, especially a wireless one, however, if you turn off SSID broadcasting, enable WPA, and enforce MAC filtering you have just eliminated yourself from the low hanging fruit crowd.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1277020,00.asp

The above article is a good one, but basically it sounds like you don't ahve the correct SSID name or password.

Well, how do you do all of that.  Also, if I use the Intel/pro wireless connection to connect to the internt it will not let me.  It shows that I have excellent signal quaility but I cannot get online.

some general points:  once your router is online, click start, click control panel, click classic view, double click network connections.  from there right-click your wireless network adapter and click view avialable networks.  your wireless network's SSID name should show up (other people's networks may show as well).  it will say the security level.

unsecured is bad -- anyone with a brain can probably get on your network and or see what your sending and receiving (like credit card number).

WEP is ok -- anyone with linux and a free program can see your data (possibly not in real time though).  once they have the key, they can also connect to your network.

WPA (with a preshared key) is relatively secure -- there are no huge weaknesses in the standard.  keys under 20 characters (and especially common words) and susceptible to reverse dictionary attacks.  Preferably use a random, 20 digit password with upper, lowercase, numbers, and special characters.  Write it down somewhere as you will not be able to remember it.

WPA2 (or WPA with AES) is probably more security than you need.  you still need a good preshared key.

Ok, thank you very much.  Once I enable the router to have WPA how do I get my laptop to connect to my network or will It do it automatically?   What is a preshared key and how do I determine how to use it?

Message Edited by mr9iron on 06-15-2005 08:00 PM

Just make sure the key you chooose is not a standard word found in the dictionary and inlcude upper case, specials characters (&^#$$%) and numbers.  A ten character password using these has over 2 trillion possibilities.

Thanks guys, I got the WPA set up and running.  I appreciate all the help with this one.  I have one more question and I will leave you alone.  I had the intel/prowireless icon in my tray and since I wasn't using it I chose to hide it.  Well I want it back and I cannot find it when I try to customize my task bar.  Any ideas on how to get the icon back so that I can see the strength of my connection?

If someone else used my wifi, wouldnt they show up on my network connections?

Also, if they used my wifi, would my info be compromised?