Secure my Wi Fi zone??

[mahking51]

Hi all
I know there are lots of IT savvy people here so I have a boring but i hope easy question.
Can anyone tell me in ABC form how to ensure that my wireless link to my laptop is not able to be 'seen' from outside.
I only have the one 'puter but like to be able to move around the house with it.
This only came to my notice when next doors 15 year old proudly told me how fast he thought my broadband was compared to his dialup, the little b****r was piggybacking on my link! Thought I was a caveman 'cos I did not know that this went on! Even had the cheek to say he could make it invisible for me. Was staggered that I declined his kind offer.
Running XP Pro with SP2 installed
Any help appreciated.
Regards
Martin (who thought he was sort of up to speed on this stuff....)

 

[Charley]

The following steps can be done in your router/wireless access point's admin. You normally get to it by going to http://192.168.0.1

First if you haven't already, change the password.

The next step is to hide the SSID (the name of the wireless connection) There should be a tick box saying something like 'Allow Broadcast of Name (SSID)' Make sure it's disabled..

You then need to change your SSID to something else...

Then enable WEP or WPA Security. It basically adds a password to your network.. You type in a phrase and it creates a encryption key.

The last step is to configure your pc to find the wireless connection.

In winXP with SP2, go to My network places and click on 'setup a wireless network for a home or small office' then follow on screen instructions.

You should now be well secured from the git next door. I've been told it would take an experienced hacker a couple of hours to get access although the FBI claim they can do it within a minute :roll:

 

[DaveL]

The other thing to do is turn on the MAC filter and only allow your machine the right to connect.

 

[Charley]

Oh yes forgot that one sorry