If you’ve watched the news in the last of couple of days you have probably heard the story about the man from Florida whose wide open wireless signal was pirated by porn offenders. Unfortunately, the owner of the wireless router did not have the router locked or secured and was accused by authorities of a horrible crime. Luckily authorities found those involved in the horrendous act at a marina more than two city blocks away.
Most of us who live in rural communities never dream that someone would want to use our wireless signal to do illegal things and that we could be an unknowing accomplice. We innocently assume our identity is protected from theft by steps we have taken to secure our credit and banking information not realizing we may be vulnerable in another area.
The use of a wireless router in your home or business is great since it allows you to access the internet via your laptop, or smart phone. It also gives you the ability to stream movies directly to your PC or Television.
Most of the newer wireless routers provide a CD with installation instructions and part of that install includes protecting your router with a password. This password locks or prevents your wireless signal from being pirated by others in your neighborhood or by those just passing through your community. A guest in your home or business, and yes even kiddos home from college who want to access the internet via their laptop or smart phone will need your permission to do so.
As with any username or password it is recommended you create strong ones by using
numbers, letters symbols, and punctuation. These should also be changed often making it harder for someone to hack into your system. To help you learn more about strong usernames and passwords we have provided a link to Brazos Internet’s Website Compass magazine. There are many informative articles, tutorials and answers to frequently asked questions that will help you understand the internet.
To view the story aired on The Today Show click below.