One of the features that we are considering offering is free wifi internet access. We have already set our router and printer to wired access only, but have any of you had issues with leaving your office computers on the same network as your public access? I know it would be possible to get into computers, but have you found that customers have the time/motivation to actually attempt a malicious attack?
15 years
My recommendation is to separate the 2 services. Your office network should be on a completely different network connection from the publicly available one. This way if something goes awry with the public guest network, it does not affect your business at all. Yes it may cost a bit more to have 2 internet connections but your business is more important.
15 years
I agree that your idea would be ideal, but unfortunately we're dependent on satellite internet because of where we are (population is 100 in the town we're in) and I'm not sure we could or want to get two separate lines. I'm considering just using two separate hubs on the same router, but someone still *could* get through if they were determined...
15 years
You could run a software firewall on the front desk computer for some extra protection (Zone Alarm for Windows -- Mac and Linux have built-in firewalls, though they may need to be configured).
If you find that neighbors or people in parked cars are using your WiFi, you can restrict the WiFi only to known MAC addresses. The only problem with that method is that every guest has to give you their MAC address before they can connect to the Internet..
15 years
Most of the risks you can eliminate by few settings:
1.) Encrypted network - Only those can join your internet which users know the password to your network... no lurkers hanging on your bandwidth and the security breach is limited to those who know the password.
2.) Turning off SSID broadcasting - This will prevent any attempt to hack your network, although can cause some difficulties for some users. If your router enables it, you can tell your users to enter the connection details manually instead of having an auto-detected network. Those who browse for signal, won't see anything, including hackers.
3.) Turning off NetBIOS on your office computers - Similar to the 2.) option, will stop broadcast your PC's IP on the network. If you have some network application in use, you may better consult with your IT guy first. :cool:
15 years
3.) Turning off NetBIOS on your office computers - Similar to the 2.) option, will stop broadcast your PC's IP on the network. If you have some network application in use, you may better consult with your IT guy first. :cool:
I kinda laughed at this... I am officially the IT guy! :D
I'll keep all of this in mind when we start up. Right now we have WPA2 enabled, and I guess we will end up having a separate encrypted network for the office computers, but I didn't know if you guys have ever actually had problems, even if the opportunity exists. I guess all of this kind of lies on a spectrum with easy to use and easy to hack on one end and impenetrable yet impossible for guests to use on the other end.
15 years
I kinda laughed at this... I am officially the IT guy! :D
So you better consult this matter with yourself then! :D
I guess all of this kind of lies on a spectrum with easy to use and easy to hack on one end and impenetrable yet impossible for guests to use on the other end.
A friend of mine told me the most secured PC with no failures has no cables attached to it... (including the network cable AND the power cord! :D)
15 years
A friend of mine told me the most secured PC with no failures has no cables attached to it... (including the network cable AND the power cord! :D)
Haha I'll have to remember that one!
15 years
Separate the two networks.
Back in Cyprus one friend of mine is having his 3rd trial because he was really into messing around with open wireless networks. As a consequence he would cause some serious damage to it :)
Better safe than sorry ;)
15 years
15 years
Have you considered this:
I think this is exactly what you need.
actually, that does sound perfect! I'll look into it some more. Thanks! :D
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