The way we use the internet forever changed with the development of wireless technology. Gone are the days where we could only dream about sitting outside in the sun while browsing the internet.

The reality is that now many of us at home use wireless technology to access the internet anywhere around the house we want. While wireless technology is a huge convenience, it also comes with a downside. Because the entire premise of wireless communication is based on the principal that data is being freely transferred across airwaves, it makes it possible for the data to be compromised.

While most of us are fully aware of this danger, the sad fact is that there are still many wireless users who are uneducated on wireless security or choose to simply leave their networks wide open. Fortunately, many options exist for securing our networks for those of us who choose to do so. Those that choose not to can face disastrous consequences.

With an open and unprotected wireless network, anyone in the range of your wireless router can freely connect and use YOUR internet connection to do whatever they want. You can see the obvious problem here. Your internet connection is at the mercy of anyone who chooses to use it, and can include the use of immoral or even illegal activity. The owner of the internet connection can be prosecuted if their wireless networks were used for illegal activities even though the owner did not do those illegal acts or even have knowledge of them.

The other downfall of having an unsecured network is that your personal data is at great risk of being stolen. While your data travels between you and the wireless router, there are many ways for it to be intercepted. This data may include a history of the websites you have visited, your email addresses, tax returns, confidential work files, usernames, passwords, and any files that may reside on your personal laptop.

These reasons alone should be enough to make you want to secure your wireless network. A good security algorithm such as WPA or WPA2 combined with a strong password is adequate to secure your wireless network and keep your data safe and prevent any other unauthorized use by criminals.

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