safety

Hello A teen at my neighbors house asked me if I would like to network with him. He said he saw, on my router, my name like - smith3. I don't know how he knew this. I declined because I know nothing abut networking and was concerned about safety issues. Could you inform me about this situation so I stay out of trouble. One question, was he able to access my pc because he is network ready and I am so close or because he knows my name through my neighbor? Thank you

Is your wireless connection encrypted? If yes then he will not be able to connect to your network. What he is seeing is a broadcast SSID (name of your wireless network basically).

Here is a very good article on securing your wireless network: http://www.practicallynetworked.com/suppor…less_secure.htm

That was a great site re: wireless safety. I have some touching up to do. Thanx again, Z.

PraticallyNetworked is a super site for all kinds of networking issues and ideas.

I read some of the information there. Although a lot was over my head, I did get a better understanding of networking. I have a networking question if I may? I have a Netgear router and a Netgear card for the laptop. I had "Enable SSID broadcast " checked but my neighbor picked up on my SSID. After reading up on the issue, I found advice that said to disable this feature which I did. It was enabled by default. Coud you comment on this diifference in configuration and which it should be.? Also, you asked if my router was encrypted; how can I tell? Thank you

It's always "safer" to disable SSID broadcast, that way no one knows your network exists unless you tell them and also provide it's name.

As for encryption, steps 3 and 4 of the PracticallyNetworked article talk about it. If you did not set it up then you are running an open wireless network, which means anyone who can access it can use it. It also means they are inside the hardware firewall provided by the router which eliminates on of your best means of protection.

The manual that came with the Netgear router will tell you how to setup WPA (preferable over WEP). Also, this link has step by step instructions that look good, though I don't have a Netgear router nearby to check it on: http://www.webupon.com/Security/Securing-a…ss-Router.35447

I have disabled broadcast SSID and will only enable it when I install a new wireless device. I do have WPA encryption with passphrase, SPI, DoS, MAC, NAT. There was no hand book to set up; You can call for 30 days then you have to pay. I found a support forum that has been of help.