Encryption

Over a network that is not secured, such as RESCOMP, most of the traffic that leaves your computer is very easy to read by hackers or other users. In order to avoid this problem, it is important to not send any valuable information over a wireless network. To ensure that your information is kept secure, you should encrypt your information.

Sniffing

It is relatively simple for hackers to view someone else's unencrypted information. A wireless adapter put into "promiscuous" mode allows it to look around and examine everybody's internet connection. It also allows it to collect traffic that travels through the air. Most wireless cards need to be configured into promiscuous mode, but an adept hacker can use a variety of programs to bypass this step.

Methods of encryption

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy): WEP uses 64-bit or 128-bit encryption. It uses a system of static keys that both the wireless router and the computer have. Note that WEP is not considered an effective form of encryption because of multiple known security exploits. However, it still provides relatively more safety than does an unencrypted network.

WPA (Wireless Protected Access): More secure than WEP encryption, WPA uses Pre-Shared Keys. These keys are not used to encrypt and decrypt data but instead to create constantly changing keys that encrypt the data. This means that even if a hacker gets one piece of information from your network, by the time it is cracked you will be using a new key. However, even though the data being sent over the network is secure, it does not prevent people from cracking the password that you use to connect to the WPA network. This password must be strong in order to protect the network.