Woodmere Neighborhood Association

Secure your wireless networks

Posted in: Emerald Mountain
  • Stock
  • jb1976
  • Respected Neighbor
  • Elmore County, AL
  • 41 Posts
  • Respect-O-Meter: Respected Neighbor
I use a laptop and have a wireless at home. My laptop picks up other wireless networks in other houses on my street or the next street. Having an unsecure wireless network allows others to surf around on your computers and through your files. Even using your connection as their internet which can slow your connection speed down or worse, can cause your ISP to drop you or fine YOU for illegal files downloaded by someone stealing your connection.

All wireless routers allow for securing and encrypting your wireless connection so that no one except your computers can access it. Its just a matter of turning it on and setting up your PCs to work with it. It is simple, but if you are daunted by such settings, I have been a sort of neighborhood techie in the past and will help. I am the Technology Coordinator for a large private school in Montgomery and have been for 7 years. In most cases, I can have your network secured in less than an hour. Most computer techs charge $100 to $120 an hour. I?’ll charge my fellow neighbors $40 for fixing their wireless security problems. If you have a friend or relative than can do it for you for free, please ask them to do it so that your network is not hacked on purpose or by mistake. If you can?’t find anyone to so it for you, feel free to email me at jbraly @ gmail.com

I can do other computer and tech fixes but honestly, I don?’t want to get involved in fixing computers. It takes way too much time and I don?’t like being in strangers homes while they make dinner and do laundry. Plus, I don?’t like to be away from my family. So I now just stick to helping people that I work with secure their wireless networks.
If you want some free computer advice, I created a website for the parents of the students at the school I work for. It has technology tips for parents and grandparents. www.techtipsforparents.org is the site.
Unsecure networks

My husband had mentioned this to me a few weeks ago. His laptop was picking up someone else's wireless network. Like JB said, all he would have to do is tell it to connect and he would be using someone else's connection. Please do secure your networks before someone that is up to no good finds it!
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