4 Free WiFi Software Downloads To Take Advantage Of Wireless Networks

This article covers 4 free WiFi software downloads that will help you better exploit any Wi-Fi network you may come across, whether it’s at home or connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot anywhere in the world. (Of course, LucidLink is the first free tool they mention).

So You Think Your Wi-Fi Network is Secure?

Wi-Fi networks deliver tremendous benefits. They provide the ability to connect to the Internet almost anywhere at anytime. You can connect in your home, office, or the coffee shop without being tethered to a wall jack, and Wi-Fi is built into most laptop PC's.

Wi-Fi is also easy to set up if you don't think about security. Out of the box, you can quickly turn on your wireless network, and connect your without much effort. Without security however, everyone else can connect to your network with the same ease. If you don't take the steps to secure your wireless network everything you do over the wireless network can also be seen by hackers up to a mile away.

Who Needs Wireless Security?

One of the common reasons why users don't secure their Wi-Fi networks is that no one wants access to their network or that there is no important information on the network to worry about. Hacking is less about joy-riding on someone else's network and more about the financial payoff that can be gained by stealing confidential or personal information over the network. In fact, over half of cyber crimes are now committed over Wi-Fi networks, because they provide anonymity that wired networks don't provide.

With a poorly secured Wi-Fi network, a wireless hacker can read your email, see the websites you visit, and even access files on your system that aren't properly secured. Your e-mail username and password are easily picked off an unsecured Wi-Fi network when every time your email is updated. Once your e-mail account is compromised, it becomes very easy to gain personal identity.

Another common misconception is that Wi-Fi can only be accessed from 300 feet away. With a $50 antenna, a hacker can access your Wi-Fi network from a mile away, out of sight and undetectable.

War drivers looking for unsecured networks, locate and record Wi-Fi networks. They then share those locations on websites such as www.wigle.net for other war drivers and hackers to find and user those networks.

Why Are So Many Networks Unsecured?

While setting up a Wi-Fi network is easy, turning on security takes some technical expertise and the ability to understand terms like WEP, WPA, 802.1x, and EAP. While wireless equipment manufacturers provide access to these security parameters, very few of them make it easy to understand, or easy to set-up.

Wi-Fi Security for Dummies

There are 4 basic levels of Wi-Fi security: "Open" (unsecured), WEP, WPA-PSK, and 802.1X. Let’s walk through these techno-acronyms and explain these basic levels of security in less technical terms.

• "Open" is just that, open to all comers without any basic level of security. Like leaving your front door unlocked for anyone to enter, open networks are just a bad idea.

• WEP is the lowest level of security available on most Wi-Fi networks. Unfortunately, WEP have fundamental flaws that make it easy to hack and software on the Internet can crack WEP security in 10 minutes. WEP is equivalent to locking your screen door; it may keep your neighbor out, but it takes little effort to break in.

• WPA is the successor to WEP that is more difficult to crack. WPA is comparable to having a single lock on your front door, and giving a key to everyone you want to give access to. Keys can be shared or walked away with when someone leaves the network. The challenge with WPA is removing someone requires the entire network to be re-keyed and new keys re-distributed to valid users.

• "802.1X" is called enterprise-level security because it provides the highest level of Wi-Fi security available. 802.1X is widely deployed by Fortune 500 companies and eliminates the common key problem by providing a unique key for each valid user every time they enter the network. This is analogous to the room key used in hotels. Each authorized user gets a new unique key every time they enter the network valid only for the time they are on the network.

802.1x typically requires a RADIUS server, which takes training and some technical work to deploy and maintain. This put the highest level of Wi-Fi security out of reach for most small and mid-sized businesses because of implementation costs.

Products like WiTopia's SecureMyWiFi Business Edition addresses the need for small and mid-sized businesses to quickly and easily deploy strong Wi-Fi security. It can deliver 802.1x enterprise level security for small and midsize business that can be set up in less than 15 minutes without any wireless or security expertise.

It's important that wireless network users understand the dangers of unsecured networks, and properly secure their networks. Open (unsecured) and WEP are poor approaches to Wi-Fi security. WPA, while complex, offers a base level of security, and 802.1x offers the best security available. Businesses are best advised to use 802.1x through either RADIUS server or the more simplified approach that WiTopia offers.

The Benefits of Wireless Networks

It seems these days that wireless networks are everywhere.With Wi-Fi capabilities built into most new laptop computers, and with relatively inexpensive network adapter cards, Wi-Fi is within reach of most PC users.

The freedom and benefits of an un-tethered connection to your network are very compelling:

• Create your network when wiring isn’t practical. Many office and warehouse spaces find it very difficult or impossible to lay wire for networking. Wi-Fi is a cost-effective and convenient alternative to a wired network.
• Expand your network with no additional wiring costs. This is especially beneficial in home offices that aren’t pre-wired for Ethernet, or for small businesses that are rapidly expanding, or frequently reconfiguring their office layouts.
• Information at your fingertips anywhere you work. The ability to access your e-mail, the Internet, and network-based applications in a conference room or another office gives you additional degrees of productivity and convenience.
• Doctors can carry patient records on a laptop or tablet PC to each exam room and stay connected all the time.
• Lawyers can bring their lap tops into depositions and conferences and fact check or access networked data instantly.
• Project members can collaborate in team meetings each with instant information available across the wireless network to accelerate decisions with immediately available information.
• Wireless at home means delivers the ability to work anywhere in the house, or deck. The ability to be around your family when you’re catching up on e-mails is truly convenient.

Beware the Dark Side

Despite the benefits, there is a dark side to wireless. Without the proper security measures in place, your business and personal information can easily be retrieved over the wireless network. With a $100 directional antenna and free software available on the internet, hackers can access your network traffic and PC data from as far as a mile away.

In June 2004, a world-wide “war drive” event among the hacker community uncovered over 230,000 wireless networks and posted their positions on the Internet. A startling 61.6% of all the networks they surveyed had no security whatsoever, and the majority of the other networks had the weakest form of security that can be cracked in under 15 minutes.

Wireless Security has tremendous benefits, especially when secured and properly managed. Pay attention to the security and gain the benefits without the risks.