Why A Password For Wifi Networks Is Not Secure Enough
Posted by juliabennet on June 27th, 2011
Do you use a password for your wifi network? Do you feel that your network is secure enough? If you answered yes to the first question, then you most probably also answered yes to the second question. It is a common perception among people today that having a password for wifi networks automatically makes them secure and proof against hackers and attacks by other malicious individuals or groups. The problem, however, is that a simple password is no longer sufficient to provide adequate security for your wireless network. The WEP cracker, for example, is a simple program that is often used by hackers to bypass a password for wifi.
The WEP cracker works through a brute force method, cycling through every single possible combination of letters and numbers in order to find the right password. Whereas this would have been impossible before, and it would have taken a hacker years to work through every single possible password combination, it can now be accomplished within the space of a few hours by a WEP cracker program. This means that wireless networks are much more vulnerable than most people realize.
The problem with it being so easy to crack the password for wifi networks is that hackers are then able to gain access to any and all information that is transmitted over that network. Some of the information that you send across your wireless network and on to the world wide web is extremely sensitive information. One good example is with online shopping, which is becoming more and more popular as people come to realize the sheer convenience of being able to browse through hundreds of stores all from the comfort of their own homes.
Payment, however, is usually made by means of a credit card, and all it really takes to pay by credit card is your card number, the security code on the back of the card and a few other details. A hacker who gains access to your wireless network would most likely also be able to get his hands on your credit card information the next time you used it to go online shopping. This is just one scenario in which your sensitive personal information could fall into the hands of a malicious individual simply because your wireless network was not secure enough.
That is most definitely not to say that you should not be using a password for wifi, however, as that the password for wifi is still your first line of defense. The situation is simply that the existence of the WEP cracker means more must be done in order to guarantee the security of your wireless network. Of course, beefing up the digital security on your wireless network will most likely cost money, as you will have to purchase a digital security product from a reputable firm. The potentially disastrous consequences of not properly securing your wireless network, however, far outweigh whatever the cost of such digital security might be. With proper digital security in place, you will be able to rest easy knowing that your sensitive personal information will not fall into the hands of someone using a WEP cracker.
If you think that a password for wifi networks is enough to ensure the security of your digital information, then you definitely have not heard of the WEP cracker. With the digital security solutions available from Secpoint, however, you will never have to worry.
