How to secure your Wi-Fi Router like a true paranoid.
Nobody wants some sneaky script kiddie with Backtrack intercept their packets or upload the latest workprint of X-Men to P2P networks using their Internet connection.
Most of home Internet connections are now shared with the help of wireless home routers, which are devices that simply pass data, such as web pages and email, between the home computers and the owner’s cable or DSL modem, which connects to the Internet (ISP).
It is important to secure your Wi-Fi router to prevent these from happening and along with other stuff which could really get you in trouble, just for being an ignorant lazy bastard. Imagine someone who’s connected to your router and sends death threats to the president of your country. Next thing you know is you’re gonna find yourself vanned and computers confiscated, pretty much anywhere you live. The aftermath ? Some days in prison, government detectives having looked through your files if you didn’t use encryption and your disgusting porn collection discovered. ( Don’t worry, they have definitely seen worse )
Without going into further bullshit, here are some tips on how to secure your wireless connection.
1. Use encryption and by that I do not mean WEP.
If you use WEP and think you are safe, I really want to punch you in the teeth for being very stupid.
WEP doesn’t prevent jackshit, other than your grandma and people who use Macs ( joke alert !11) to gain access to your router. It is so easy to crack a WEP encrypted connection, that every cool kid with an antenna able to inject packets and use Backtrack can do it.
2. Use WPA2-PSK as security encryption.
This is your safest option so far. It is known to be a good security protocol. It introduces CCMP, a new AES-based encryption mode with strong security. Mandatory for all new devices to bear the Wi-Fi trademark so your device will most probably have it, unless you use ancient pieces of technology.
3. Use a strong password.
You’d have to have an IQ of 34 to use a pass phrase found on the dictionary. And by strong, I really mean it. Make it consist of uppercases, numbers, special characters and you will be fine. Unless they discover a weakness in the algorithm used by WPA2 like they did with WEP but no such news has been really reported up to now. If you are a big paranoid tin-foil wearing neckbeard, use a 63 char long password. This link is helpful on this.
4.Change the router’s default credentials.
Just in case. This could still prevent the script kiddie if he cracks your passphrahe useing a super computer or Amazon’s EC2 from doing a lot of helpful tasks such as MITM attacks or port forwarding.
5. Change the Default SSID and Disable Broadcasting.
Do it. NOW ! Even though this doesn’t prevent a lot from 1337 h4x0rs, it could still become helpful.
Go to your router’s settings and do it. You won’t regret it. Read more info on this here, by Microsoft.
6. Lower the frequency.
If you lower it to b and /g/ mode, you will definitely prevent some guy far from your basement to try to intercept your packets on the tubes. Also, the lower the frequency, the lower the balls cancer risk.
7. Change your password frequently.
I do it once every 7 days but you could do it everyday if you are a paranoid schizophrenic.
8. MAC filtering.
No, I am not talking about the shiny overpriced devices by Apple. If the attacker is a patient one, this will be pretty useless as it is very easy to change the MAC on every OS. This could prevent someone from using your Internet if their MAC is not in the whitelist as the router will prevent them from connecting.
9.Other.
Don’t autosave the password in your computer if someone has access to it other than you. Complex passwords are better than long ones. If you fail to do the above steps, go full retard mode and use a wired modem. Also, do it if you’re a hipster. Check if your router has firmware vulnerabilities and if you are using the latest version. If not, update quickly from the user interface. If you want stroner encryption, you might wanna look into WPA2-Enterprise.
Thanks for SecurityTube for making available a great guide on wireless security. You can view/download it using this link. It’s what inspired me write this article.
I hope that article will help you keep your wireless connection safe. This is just a short tutorial in which I tried to include the most important points with references from different people and sources. Follow me on Twitter to get updates on my next posts.
Be safe and don’t forget to put your tinfol hat on
Comments are welcome 
Thanks for reading.
Dorian.
