Wi-Fi networks - how to setup Security ?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">w<span style="word-wrap: break-word;">hy do we need passwords for Wi-Fi networks?</span></span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Good question! Many users think that Wi-Fi passwords help them to prevent freeloaders ( people who use your Wi-Fi without your permission ) from accessing their Wi-Fi networks. Well, passwords do a lot more than that. They encrypt your Wi-Fi network's traffic so that some bad people around you won't be able to see what you're doing with the internet.</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;">I didn't know that! Also, I've heard about different types of passwords like WEP, WPA, WPA2. What are these?</span></span></span></span><br /><div align="center" style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><ignore_js_op style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img aid="255919" file="data/attachment/forum/201501/10/133956t3bmbxb5x0r9x3xa.jpg.thumb.jpg" height="480" id="aimg_255919" initialized="true" inpost="1" src="http://en.miui.com/data/attachment/forum/201501/10/133956t3bmbxb5x0r9x3xa.jpg.thumb.jpg" style="word-wrap: break-word;" width="640" zoomfile="data/attachment/forum/201501/10/133956t3bmbxb5x0r9x3xa.jpg" /></span></ignore_js_op></div><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Haha. They aren't passwords. They are called encryption techniques. They are used to encode your data so that no one will be able to see what you're doing on your network.</span></span><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy and WPA stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access.<br style="word-wrap: break-word;" />WEP was the first encryption technique.</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">WPA and WPA2 were developed after WEP.</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">So, which encryption method should I use?</span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">It depends on your router and your device. Some very old devices can only support WEP. In that case you can only use WEP. I do not recommend using WEP. You should always try to use WPA or WPA2.</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Now that's something interesting! What's wrong with WEP? Why shouldn't I use it?</span></span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Just like software have bugs in them, the encryption techniques might have some overlooked problems in them. WEP was abandoned because it had a problem in it. A hacker with little knowledge could easily find the password if WEP was used. So, in order to rectify that WPA and later WPA2 were developed. </span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">On my router I can connect my devices by pressing a push button. Isn't this easier and more secure than entering a password?</span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">What you're talking about is WPS ( WiFi Protected Setup ). This method was created as a cover up for WEP. It was created to avoid the hassle of entering passwords. But it turned out to be much worse than WEP.  A flaw was found in this method too. If you're using this disable it immediately ( Yes, I mean it! You must disable this as soon as possible ).</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">So, which encryption technique is safe?</span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">I'd recommend you to use WPA2 or at least WPA. WPA2 is the most secure one. Let's take a look at all the encryption techniques:</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><ignore_js_op style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><img aid="255910" file="data/attachment/forum/201501/10/130654htggw6vq4zwg6q6w.jpg.thumb.jpg" height="181" id="aimg_255910" initialized="true" inpost="1" src="http://en.miui.com/data/attachment/forum/201501/10/130654htggw6vq4zwg6q6w.jpg.thumb.jpg" style="word-wrap: break-word;" width="640" zoomfile="data/attachment/forum/201501/10/130654htggw6vq4zwg6q6w.jpg" /> </ignore_js_op><span style="line-height: 21px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">I've heard about hiding my Wi-Fi and allowing only some devices to connect to my network. What about them?</span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Hiding your Wi-Fi might not make your network super secure but it could stop some people finding your network ( one can find it easily even though it's hidden ). And coming to allowing only some devices to connect : it is called MAC filtering. It sounds good but one can bypass it easily. All he ( the bad guy) needs is a wee bit of patience.</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Sometimes when I'm in an airport or hotel I use the free Wi-Fi provided by them. What about those Wi-Fi networks?  </span></span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Who doesn't want free Wi-Fi? But you should be very careful while using them. Hackers could be anywhere. You shouldn't use these free Wi-Fi networks for online shopping or sites involving use of your credit card. If possible don't use free Wi-Fi networks.</span></span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Should I use only WPA2 to secure my network?</span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">As I've said in my previous class you should not use WEP and WPS at all! You may use WPA but you'll be more safe if you use WPA2.</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;">Is encryption the only security for a Wi-Fi network?</span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Nope, there are many things that can help you increase your network security. Here are some of them:</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">- Changing default passwords of router</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">- Changing the default network name</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">- Disabling remote login</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">- Disabling wireless administration</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">- Disabling WPS</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">- Upgrading your router firmware</span><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span></span><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">- Enabling router firewall</span><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">- Using a VPN service</span></span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span></span><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Can you explain these in detail?</span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Yes, for sure.</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Why should I change the default passwords for the router?</span></span></span></span><br /><div align="center" style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; word-wrap: break-word;"><img aid="256468" file="data/attachment/forum/201501/11/224116m3m4jm9rtam2pk44.jpg.thumb.jpg" id="aimg_256468" initialized="true" inpost="1" src="http://en.miui.com/data/attachment/forum/201501/11/224116m3m4jm9rtam2pk44.jpg.thumb.jpg" style="word-wrap: break-word;" zoomfile="data/attachment/forum/201501/11/224116m3m4jm9rtam2pk44.jpg" /></span></div><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Since they are 'default' these passwords can be easily found just by a quick google search. So, anyone who is successful in discovering your Wi-Fi password can easily change your router settings if your router password hasn't been changed.</span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">So, change your router password as soon as possible.</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">What about the default network name?</span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">In case you don't know network name is the name of your Wi-Fi network ( like DLink, Netgear095 etc.). If anyone is determined to break into your network your default network name will help him. Since in most cases the default name will be the manufacturer's name it will help him in determining the router password. So, change your default network name.</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">What about remote login?</span></span></span></span><br /><div align="center" style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; word-wrap: break-word;"><img aid="256469" file="data/attachment/forum/201501/11/224212cdsd39pdepp9d2ep.jpg.thumb.jpg" id="aimg_256469" inpost="1" src="http://en.miui.com/data/attachment/forum/201501/11/224212cdsd39pdepp9d2ep.jpg.thumb.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; word-wrap: break-word;" zoomfile="data/attachment/forum/201501/11/224212cdsd39pdepp9d2ep.jpg" /></span></div><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Remote login is used to access your router controls any where from the internet. Most of us don't need this feature and you don't want some one accessing your router from the internet, right? So, disable remote login.</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">What about wireless administration? </span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Wireless administration is used to access your router settings fro your devices connected to the Wi-Fi network. You might not need it since you can change the settings by connecting to the router using a LAN cable. So, disable wireless administration if you don't want your router settings to be changed by some evil people.</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;">I guess most of us know about WPS. So, let's skip to upgrading router firmware.</span></span></span></span><br /><div align="center" style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; word-wrap: break-word;"><img aid="256470" file="data/attachment/forum/201501/11/224257rpq2g9dv99grgqp0.jpg.thumb.jpg" id="aimg_256470" inpost="1" src="http://en.miui.com/data/attachment/forum/201501/11/224257rpq2g9dv99grgqp0.jpg.thumb.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; word-wrap: break-word;" zoomfile="data/attachment/forum/201501/11/224257rpq2g9dv99grgqp0.jpg" /></span></div><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Just like your devices with MIUI get updates to fix bugs, updates are also released for routers to fix any bugs or security issues. So, update your router firmware regularly.</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Okay. What about the firewall?</span></span></span></span><br /><div align="center" style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; word-wrap: break-word;"><img aid="256521" file="data/attachment/forum/201501/11/234246donhzyzcnhwblhay.jpg.thumb.jpg" id="aimg_256521" initialized="true" inpost="1" src="http://en.miui.com/data/attachment/forum/201501/11/234246donhzyzcnhwblhay.jpg.thumb.jpg" style="word-wrap: break-word;" zoomfile="data/attachment/forum/201501/11/234246donhzyzcnhwblhay.jpg" /></span></div><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">Firewall guards your router from most internet threats. So, in order to protect your network from internet threats enable your router firewall.</span></span><br style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><span style="font-weight: 700; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">What is a VPN service and how can it help me?</span></span><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">First I'll tell you what a VPN is:</span></span></span><br /><table cellspacing="0" class="t_table" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid rgb(227, 237, 245); empty-cells: show; line-height: 21px; table-layout: auto; width: 705px; word-wrap: break-word;"><tbody style="word-wrap: break-word;"><tr style="word-wrap: break-word;"><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(227, 237, 245); overflow: hidden; padding: 4px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; word-wrap: break-word;">Let's say that you want to send a letter to a person and you don't want anyone else to read it. So, you encrypt the letter. But someone could intercept your letter and impersonate you and send their own letter to the same person.If you encrypt the address then no one will be able to deliver it. <br style="word-wrap: break-word;" />"VPN to the rescue."<br style="word-wrap: break-word;" />This time you encrypt both the letter and the address and send it to the address of the VPN. Here the VPN should be a trust worthy person. He won't read the contents of your letter or alter them. Then the VPN will unencrypt it and send it to the recipient.In short VPN encrypts your data and it acts like a virtual LAN cable between the website and  your device.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /></span><div align="center" style="line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; word-wrap: break-word;"><img aid="256500" file="data/attachment/forum/201501/11/233447rs1auxf5zhfkz1k5.jpg.thumb.jpg" height="291" id="aimg_256500" initialized="true" inpost="1" src="http://en.miui.com/data/attachment/forum/201501/11/233447rs1auxf5zhfkz1k5.jpg.thumb.jpg" style="word-wrap: break-word;" width="640" zoomfile="data/attachment/forum/201501/11/233447rs1auxf5zhfkz1k5.jpg" /></span></div><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br style="word-wrap: break-word;" /><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">But remember choose your VPN wisely.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">source : <a href="http://en.miui.com/thread-75475-1-1.html">mi forum</a></span></span></div>

Wi-Fi networks - how to setup Security ?

w hy do we need passwords for Wi-Fi networks? Good question! Many users think that Wi-Fi passwords help them to prevent freeloaders ( people...

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