Broadband Connections. How secure is your network?

Published – East Cork Journal – September 27th, 2007.

When subscribing for an Internet broadband connection do you consider whether or not your network is encrypted? Though it may seem as one of the simplest things, it is often one of those things that is often taken advantage of and people consider their broadband to be secure and that no one would be able to hack into and use their connection. Sure why would anyone want to do this?

Well how would you feel if you could go out and sit in your car and download 10 movies a night at someone else’s expense? This may be a recent problem in the town but it is ever increasing one. In one housing estate alone if you are to sit in the middle of the parking area you can find at least six or seven unsecured networks. So the choice is yours, just pick any network and have instant access to the Internet. 

So why would you want to consider securing your network? I recently conducted a survey where  I travelled to several different areas both inside and outside of local towns and through my research I found that the majority of the networks I was able to see with just a few clicks of my mouse were unsecured. This means that people can easily use your Internet connection to access the Internet. The problem is not just restricted to housing estates it concerns several businesses in the town too.

It may seem like a little problem and sure why not be generous and share your network but the issue with having an unsecured network is that the generosity goes far beyond sharing with neighbours. In one incident I was told of a household that had to pay an extra  €25 as they had exceeded their download limit for the month and this was not due to their personal use.

While most internet providers allow you to set your own password when you first sign up to their network some don’t explain the procedure and it is easy to forget how important it is to have a password that will protect your connection from being used by others. All you have to do is contact your Internet provider and they will guide you through the process free of charge.

Although it may take some time to set up and protect your Internet connection it is certainly worth it. And if you have any doubts just consider the fact that you could be throwing your money down the drain by letting others download songs and music at your expense.