One of the biggest issues with a Wi-Fi network is security. Compare and contrast

Question

One of the biggest issues with a Wi-Fi network is security.

Compare and contrast some of the options or technologies available to secure a Wi-Fi network. What are the benefits of using each of these technologies? Be specific and provide details.

Do you employ these in your own home Wi-Fi network? If not, why?

Are these technologies able to provide 100% security to your Wi-Fi network? Are there still holes? Can you think of a scenario where, even after using these technologies, somebody who wanted to hack into your network can still do it? How can they do it?

Explanation / Answer

Compare and contrast some of the options or technologies available to secure a Wi-Fi network. What are the benefits of using each of these technologies? Be specific and provide details.
1.Set the router access password. Anybody who gains access to the router configuration settings can disable the security you have set up. If you forget the password, most routers have a hardware reset that will restore all of the settings to factory defaults. The best option is to use a random sequence of the maximum length of characters - you only have to type that once, so it is not a big thing.

2. Use a secure password. Don't use easily guessed passwords for your WPA2 or router access passwords, such as "ABC123", "Password", or a string of numbers in order. Use something hard to guess that contains both upper and lowercase letters as well as numbers. Special characters such as !@#$% are not supported by some routers. The longer the key, the better, although the WPA2 key has a minimum and maximum length.

3.Enable encryption on your access point. Using 128-bit encryption or higher makes your Wireless Network more secure.The Wireless Protected Access (WPA) protocol and more recent WPA2 have supplanted the older and less-secure Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP).

4. Change the Service Set Identifier (the network name or "SSID") from the default to something unique. A default SSID indicates to hackers that the network was set up by a novice and that other options (such as the password) are also left as the default. Use a name you can remember and identify, as the SSID has no influence on the security of your network (not even if you choose not to broadcast it).

5. Enable MAC Address filtering on your Access Point or router. A MAC (not to be confused with the computer model 'Mac') address is a code unique to every wireless networking card in existence. MAC Address filtering will register the hardware MAC Address of your networked devices, and only allow devices with known MAC Addresses to connect to your network.

6. Disable remote login. The first router worm brute forces its way into the router in this manner. Most default usernames are set to Admin. It isn't hard for a virus/worm to crack the password if the username is known. The good thing is that routers normally have this disabled by default. Be sure to confirm that it is disabled when you first set up your router and periodically thereafter. If you need to update your router setting remotely, only set up access for the time you are going to be connected.

7. Disable wireless administrating. Finally, change the setting that allows administrating the router through a wireless connection to 'off' (meaning that you need to connect with a LAN cable for administration). This disables any wireless hacking into the router.8. Turn off your wireless network when you know you won't use it. Hackers cannot access a wireless router when it is shut down. If you turn the router off when you're not using it, you limit the amount of time that it is susceptible to a hack.

9. Most wireless routers come with preset passwords for administering the devices settings (this is different from the password used to access the wireless network itself). Unauthorized users may be familiar with the default passwords, so it is important to change the router device

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