Wi-Fi Safety The author of this report has been charged with, after having selected, the subject of Wi-Fi vulnerabilities, what to know about them and what to do about them. While using safe and secure Wi-Fi is not always possible, it is usually possible to use one or more means to avoid having data being compromised as it travels through the air. The issues that will be covered in this report include what protocols are best, what protocols should be avoided, how speeds can come into the calculation and so forth. While dangers exist out there when it comes to using Wi-Fi data, a little preparation and thinking in advance can prevent or at least mitigate a lot of problems.

Questions Answered

The first thing that will be discussed does not have much to do with safety online but it certainly has an effect on productivity and how long it takes, in general, to get work done online. This would be the speed of the wireless internet. The technical standard in question most of the time is what is known as 802.11. There are multiple iterations of standard. It started with the 802.11 standard when Wi-Fi really came into being with the public. This standard was about 10 mbps. After that came G which upped the speed to about 54 mbps. There was a huge jump to N which allowed for, presuming there were multiple channels, speeds of up to 450 mbps. At a minimum, people could get 100+ mbps on a single N connection. Nowadays, there is the blistering fast AC standard which can exceed wireless gigabit (which is no small thing) if the right equipment is involved on the router side and the client side.

Security has also evolved greatly over the years. As the speed has gotten faster, the wireless encryption standards that exist have gotten better or have been completely replaced. One standard that is now obsolete is known as the WEP protocol. The main reason it is no longer used is because it has been "cracked." Meaning, those that detect WEP traffic in the area and decipher what is being communicated because the "key" to translating the encrypted traffic has been figured out. The TJX/TJ Maxx scandal where a ton of credit cards and other sensitive information was stolen was the result of the fact that the stores were using that standard rather than the newer (and still secure) WPA protocol (Chapple, 2015). Nowadays, either WPA or WPA2 are the gold standard protocols when it comes to wireless. There are software-based protocols such as Blowfish and whatnot but WPA/WPA2 is by far the most common wireless standard when it comes to routers, wireless network adapters and so forth (HTG, 2015).

While it may make a lot of sense to have all wireless internet secure, there are some points of access that are not. One of the more common examples would be public Wi-Fi access points. Because encrypted routers and access points require passwords, the encryption is usually turned off unless it is reasonable or practical to give out the password to access the encryption on the router. While having no encryption allows for quicker and easier access, it also means that anything being sent over the air is not encrypted and this means that any "sniffer" or other device designed to catch and read over-the-air content can do so with ease. As such, people have two options when it comes to using unencrypted access points. One is just to make sure that no surfing is done that involves usernames, passwords or private information such as Social Security numbers or credit card numbers. The other way to address this problem is through a Virtual Private Network, or VPN for short. This is a software-based solution whereas communication is encrypted even though it is going over public air. What is done is that a phone or computer connects to the VPN and all content viewed is filtered (and encrypted) through that communication line. In short, so long as someone has VPN access, is using an encrypted router or both, their data should be safe presuming they are using something like WPA or some other protocol that is equally protected at this time. The above is really focused mostly on what happens when one is out and about and does not have access to one's home network (Geier, 2015).

The above lessons also make clear what should happen out in the field. A little...

When it comes to home-based solutions, a lot of the same rules apply. The VPN's that are mentioned above, whether it be for smartphones or laptops, can still be used in home applications. There are many vendors that sell access to them to the public for rather nominal rates and many work networks have their own VPN's so that remote people can easily access the network even if they are not at an office location for the company (Henry, 2015; Venezia, 2015). Also as noted before, the use of a WPA/WPA2 router is pretty much a must when it comes to home Wi-Fi use. Leaving a router unsecured is pretty much begging for trouble. One reason is that anyone can attach to the router and use the data. They could also potentially access the other computers on the network and compromise the data. There are ways to detect this and stop it from happening. Examples include MAC filters (e.g. only allowing network adapters with certain MAC addresses to be on the network ... a MAC is like a serial number for a computer's network apparatus) and tracking who is attached at any given time. However, using WPA/WPA2 encryption and doling out the network password only to those that need to know it is far easier to do. Further, those that have guests and the like can build such access into the router using proper configurations or a fob that allows access without giving out information that could theoretically be used later without the permission of the network owner.
Of course, wired internet is faster (usually) and much more secure. However, the convenience of wireless is hard for many people to pass up as they can simply carry their phone, tablet or laptop to wherever it is needed in the house. Smartphones are taking much the same path. 3G phones used to be the best of the best but now 4G rules the realm for most larger cities. However, 5G is surely in the works and should be coming out soon. One thing to keep in mind with phone-based Wi-Fi is that most cell phone plans are metered in terms of the data that they use. Encryption just adds to the amount of information that must be processed so people should safe securely while keeping in mind that they will be charged if they extend beyond their data usage. Further, not a whole lot is known about the security of being on the cellular network directly, so people should proceed with caution. It should be kept in mind that many smartphones have Wi-Fi capabilities and can latch on to routers, both encrypted and unencrypted. However, the rules and best practices noted above still apply when it comes to smartphones (Savvides, 2015).

Hardware and software are both important when it comes to laptops and desktop computers. In general, it is wise to have at least a somewhat modern operating system and it is very important to have modern network equipment. For those laptops and desktops that do not come with network adapters with WPA/WPA2 capability, they can be bought in the form of USB, PCI, PCI-Express and PC Card, depending on the slots or ports available (Murphy, 2015). When it comes to operating system, Windows 10 was just rolled out but it is still fairly new. Windows 8 has been around for a while but is not well-liked by a lot of people. However, Windows 7 should fit the bill for most people unless the most modern features and options are needed. Anyone with Windows XP should upgrade to at least Windows 7 because Microsoft is no longer supporting XP from a security or functionality perspective and that would include network security and protocols (Microsoft, 2015).

Conclusion

Wi-Fi has come a long way and it will go a lot further. While the technology is fairly easy to use and wield, there are ways to get into trouble and some of it can happen unwittingly. It is always wise to be an informed and educated computer user, at least when it comes to the basics. Doing otherwise can lead to massive problems including compromising of data, loss of data and other nasty implications. The ruining of a credit file on its own can be a life-changer, at least in the short-term. One does not need the newest and most expensive gear to be safe. One just needs a little know-how. A decent VPN and a recognizing of what Wi-Fi is secure…