Wireless connection

JeanB_2

I want to change to a new ISP to save money but the new one is wireless and I have no experience with wireless connections. All the info I have seen so far says that it is not as secure. Any advice would be much appreciated.

espresso

It is not difficult to ensure that your wireless network is securely encrypted. You don't have to use the wireless functionality and it can usually be switched off, however using a router to connect to your ISP is far better than using a commonly supplied free USB modems. If you need help setting up encryption, visit the Techie board.

Loster

Just to clear up some confusion: unless I'm mistaken, there is no such thing as a wireless ISP. An ISP is a provider of data that comes down either a BT or cable line. Whether this data is then made wireless once it appears at your house is a choice that is up to you. If this new ISP markets itself as 'wireless' this will mean that they provide you with a wireless router and modem after you've signed up (usually for a fee, £30 or more).

The different between a modem and a router is that a modem decodes the data sent through the phone line and makes it accessible to your PC. A router, however, is a peice of kit that then splits this signal as many ways as you want it to (so you can connect more than one PC). An ordinary router ("wired") would have four or more connections to connect four or more PC's by network cable, giving them all net access. A wireless router is the same thing but the data gets transmitted by radio waves (through the aerials) from the router to be picked up by any PC with a wireless adapter (or reciever; most laptops now have them built in).

As for the security, again, it is a question of what you do at your end. Enabling wireless security on the router means the data is encrypted before being transmitted and can only be unencrypted if you know the password or 'key'. To make your wireless use secure encryption, you usually just connect to the wireless router from your PC to configure its settings (look in the instructions that came with the wireless router, or do a net search with its make and model. It's usually just a case of typing in an IP address - 192.168.0.1 for eg - into a browser's address bar, and you get a page with a load of settings to tweak).

There are different methods of encryption. Apparently, WEP, the most popular, is crackable by a determined hacker (who would have to be sitting outside your house, in a car, with a laptop by the way, or within range of your router - thats the only way to do it), but, really, for everyday home use, this kind of encryption is enough to keep most people out. If WEP is not set (i.e. no password) you may get neighbours borrowing your connection, but otherwise it is extremely unlikely that someone could snoop on your wireless network (unless they had a reason to, i.e. a vendetta), and get any of your data (especially since data on secure websites is encrypted anyway - though emails are not).

So, this is what is meant by wireless networks being 'unsecure'. They can be accessed if the encryption is weak or not-present, but the only people who would usually be bothered to do so are your neighbours using your internet for free.

Look here for info about encryption methods:

http://netsecurity.about.com/od/quicktip1/qt/qtwifiwepwpa.htm

Hope this helps you JeanB,
Loster.

JeanB_2

Thanks to both replies, its good to have someone to ask.