Page 714 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box

address of a VPN server.

See “Virtual Private Networking” for more on setting up a VPN

connection.

Protect Your Home Wireless Network

Public wireless hotspots aren’t the only ones that present a theoretical
security risk; your wireless network at home harbors hacker potential, too.

It’s theoretically possible for so-called war drivers (people who drive
around with laptops, looking for unprotected home Wi-Fi networks) to
piggyback onto home networks to download child pornography or to send

out spam.

This one’s easy to nip in the bud:

Use a password on your Wi-Fi. When you first set up your Wi-Fi
router (your base station or access point), you’re offered the chance
to create a password for your network. Take that chance. (Wireless

routers have offered three different types of password-protected
encryption over the years, called WEP, WPA, and WPA2. If it’s
available, choose the most modern, most secure one, which is

WPA2.)

You then have to enter the password when you first connect to that
hotspot from each wireless PC on your network.

Note

You won’t have to type this password every time you want to get onto your own
network! Windows offers to memorize it for you.

Ban unwanted PCs. Many routers include a feature that lets you
limit network access to specific computers. Any PC that’s not on

the list won’t be allowed in. The feature is called MAC address