Going Wireless
We’re finally getting a wireless router at our house (Amazon just notifed me that it’s been shipped). I’m really excited, since it will free up my laptop. (I currently use it at the dining room table, with a cable running from the office, through the hall & into the dining room plugged into the laptop.)
My question to my friends out there is: should we set up a password to access the wifi or leave it open? My beliefs push me to leave it open, but I’m wondering if there are consequences to leaving it open that I don’t want to deal with. I realize that anyone who really wanted to could certainly break into a protected network, but I also doubt anyone like that is going to be hanging around our neighborhood. So, open or not?
November 10th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I leave mine open, but I rename it and set it to not broadcast its name. That way, you can log onto it if you know the name of the network, but random people surfing by won’t see it.
I’m sure a dedicated thief could hack this, but it’s a simple solution, particularly given how many networks I see in my area that are called ‘linksys’ or ‘admin’ or something like that.
November 10th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I do keep mine locked, between my 2 tivos (hey! don’t judge) and my laptop, I don’t want anyone else messing around on it.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
We do what John does. That was it doesn’t matter what’s trying to connect to it, it makes it easier not having to set up security features. And if you want on the network, we’ve got to tell you the SSID.
November 11th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I love the idea of free wireless. That being said, if your neighbor uses it for illegal activity, you are the one who will be held responsible. You might want to contact your cable provider and see if they have provisions for people who leave their network unencrypted, like coffee shops and such.
November 11th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
We use MAC filtering, which is definitely on the closed end of the spectrum.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
If you do leave the wireless open (I don’t know your beliefs, but I suspect I probably agree with you) just make sure that any computers in your house are not “sharing” on the network. Your iTunes libraries, for example, might be set to share over the network. But you prob’ly already knew that.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Well, my wifi is open and broadcasting the SSID. I decided to use Quality of Service settings to make all my MAC addresses the highest priority for bandwidth, while leaving anyone connecting from ouside getting really, really slow speeds. Fine for email checking, death for bittorrent or p2p. It also lets me do things like prioritize my VOIP higher than Tivo downloads on the fly, and the router adjusts automagically when you pick up the phone. Is awesome.
I’m using a Linksys WRTG54L, with the Tomato firmware on it. Lets you do all sorts of fun things you can’t do out of the box.
November 12th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I will second Tomato firmware. If you want more info, gizmodo.com and lifehacker.com both have great reviews with comments about it.
November 13th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Thanks for all the advice and tips! The router (Netgear WGR614L) arrived yesterday, and I set it up last night. For the moment, I’ve got it locked (WPA), although I not really all that worried about people nicking our wireless that much. We live on a side street in the ‘burbs, and there are 2 or 3 unlocked signals in the neighborhood already. But I’m leaving it locked for now. I may change that later, though.
November 17th, 2008 at 7:51 am
http://lifehacker.com/5086890/share-your-wireless-network-with-the-neighborhood
November 17th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Thanks, pal! Someone else sent me that link, too. Definitely something to think about.
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:44 am
A little behind on my feeds… sorry! In Germany, it is required to protect wireless networks. As The Rover mentioned, if someone uses your connection to commit illegal activities (watch out RIAA!), you are responsible. Oh, it is also illegal not to lock your car. If someone steals it, you are s.o.l…
Just my belated 2 cents.