Monday, January 17, 2011

Wireless Network? Time to Change the Password

If your business and/or home uses wireless network technology be sure to set up a regular schedule to change the password. Passwords should be changed minimally once per month; preferably once a week.

A new program designed in Germany has proven just how easy it is to hack into the type of wireless most often used by small business and home users. Often these networks are set up using the same network name that shipped with the wireless router. Sometimes even the password is not changed, making it simple for everyday hackers without special programs to hack your network.

In addition to changing your password on a regular basis, it is recommended that your password be at least 20 characters in length and use a wide assortment of special characters, letters (upper and lower case), and numbers. It is no longer recommended to use numbers instead of letters in words (such as n1c3 for the word nice) and your password should not have any identifiable words which make it easier to guess and therefore to hack.

All this is pretty darn inconvenient especially when you are first setting a network up or if you need to make adjustments to your wireless. Consider changing the password temporarily to a lengthy but easy to remember password while you are working on the network; lock the network up with a better, more secure password when you are done working for the day.

Unfortunately, making it easy for yourself to remember a password often makes it easier for hackers with nothing better to do but to attack small businesses and home users just because they can get away with it.

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