Securing My Network

[cyclones]

Hello. I have a Netgear Wireless N Router shared with 3 Wired Computers and My Wireless Laptop. I have WPA-Personal Security setup on my router.. I saw a program called SoftPerfect network scanner.. If a person was using that program on their computer, could they "Detect" my network without logging into it and see all the files/folders Im sharing on my computers? All of the computers in my house are on a Workgroup but I also have Server 2003 that I could put on one of the computers thats on 24/7, but I dont know if I need to go this far with security.. I have ALOT of files/folders/network drives being shared on my network, and I used that Network Scanner program and got into a "Unsecure"network and could see all the files and folders the person was sharing.. My question is.. Is my security tight enough so that no one could breach my files or access any data on my network at all?

Let me know what I should do.

Thanks!

 

[patonb]

Yes they can see your network... you've done nothing to hide it.

Can they access your network?? Not easily, you'd have to crack the WPA first... depending on your pass could be easy, or very impossible.

Of coarse you'd see all the file/shares on a unsecured network... It's unseured!
Besides, you're talking 2 completely different securitys... 1 is youre physical network(wifi signal) the other is your files/shares once your in the network.

To check if your wifi wpa is secure, check if its in a dictionary, or if its a variation of words, like dog123, etc.. if it is youre poorly secured.

Oh, and you should stay off others networks... its illegal

 

[Hefemeister]

You can also add mac filtering just to give someone another hurdle to get into you network.

 

[Lexluethar]

-Hide the SSID (yes programs can still find it but it is just an extra layer of security).
-ensure the password for the WPA is extremely secure (no recognizable words, just a mixture of letters, numbers, and special characters).
-Change the admin password on the router to something secure (see above).
-Don't give any of your passwords out, make guests either use a ethernet cable to use your internet or change your password once you give the old on out.
-Use MAC filtering, so only your computers can access the network.
-Use WPA2 if possible.

That is about all you can do. At that point it is very difficult to get into your network. WPA is also hard to crack (i think takes a few days to crack).

 

[patonb]

^wpa is dictionary cracked, last i knew.