For about $50 at any department store, Ohio University students can buy a wireless internet router, but that purchase can often come with an additional cost.
Students should encrypt their wireless networks, making them available only to people with the network password, Phil Campbell, director of the School of Information and Telecommunication Studies, advised students in a workshop last night.
Routers use radio waves that, if not protected, can be easily used by others.
Radio waves don't stop when they reach your doorstep ... or when they reach your neighbor's door
Campbell said, adding that if a person does not encrypt his or her network, nothing stops someone from using their Internet or tracking their activities.
And not all encryptions are created equally, either.
When people buy a wireless router at the store, it is generally equipped with three ways to encrypt the wireless connection, Campbell explained. Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 is the best, he said, adding that even the CIA can't hack it.
Any type of encryption is useless, however, unless also protected by a password, Campbell said, advising creating long passwords with random numbers and letters.
Don't use 'cat' he joked.
Doug Bowie, a professor in the College of Communication who helped lead the workshop, also suggested changing the network's default name to discourage hackers.
Netgear and Linksys, two popular router brands, are juicy hacking targets Bowie said, adding that the router's owner is libel for anything other people do on their network.
Students in attendance said that the workshop was a refresher course for them.
It is important to protect your wireless network, said junior Lori Huber. You pay for (wireless) for yourself
not your neighbor.
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Caitlin Bowling
