Melissa, whose nom de Net appears to be "ladybug," writes: "On a recent show, you recommended encrypting through WEP or WPA. Where do I find this on my computer?"
First, the Duo recap the plot thus far. WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Protocol. WPA stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access. They're both designed to encrypt communications over Wi-Fi networks, which of course are wireless. That keeps other people from using your network--and keeps what you send secure from the eyes of snoops.
WEP is older--and unfortunately, it's not very good. People who know what they're doing can crack it fairly quickly. But it's better than nothing, and unless you're starting from scratch with new equipment, it's probably what you'll be using instead of the more secure WPA. Everything wireless on the network has to use the same protocol, and unfortunately, a lot of older devices and some new ones don't support WPA.
Whichever protocol Melissa chooses, security starts with the wireless router, and for that Melissa may have to dig out her manual. Generally you configure the router from your Web browser, so you probably have to enter a specific numeric address in the address field. Then you'll have to enter your router's password and surf your way to a Web page that will probably say something about "encryption" or "wireless security." That's where you'll be able to pick whether you want WEP or WPA--remember, you'll need to choose the one that works with all the stuff you've got. And then you'll need to create a password or passphrase for it.
Be sure you write it down or print it out, and save it somewhere that you'll know to look when it comes time to add devices to your network, counsels Angela. You'll need to know it to get access from your Wi-Fi computer or other Wi-Fi devices. (The alternative, as Angela knows all too well, is a tedious round of reconfiguring a bunch of equipment if you so much as want a visitor to connect her laptop to your network for a few minutes.) Choosing WEP? Try to make note of what's known as the hex or hexadecimal key for it, too--the bunch of digits and letters from A through F. Some WEP devices require you to type that in instead of the password.
From there you're ready to put the passphrase or key into the other wireless devices on the network. With Windows XP, there are a bunch of places you can do it, but probably the easiest method is to do so when you connect to the network and it asks you to type in the password--twice. With other devices, you may have to go into a setup screen to do the deed. Apple has its own special way of handling key codes; you should only have to do it once per device, because each device should remember the password.
If you're doing anything at all that's serious over a Wi-Fi network in your home, you should definitely include encryption. If you don't, it's like inviting the whole neighborhood over to share your connection and, possibly, whatever you've got on your hard drive; some folks don't mind making their bandwidth a community resource, but most of us would draw the line at our personal files. And for sending us that question, Melissa will receive a lovely (?) pen necklace; Angela suggests that she use it to write down her WEP key or WPA passphrase so she won't forget it. (Would that the distaff Duo member followed her own advice!)
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