now I'm not a techie by no means - I needed to contact support when I couldn't get my pda to sync with my laptop....which is why this discovery worries me!

someone I know came across an interesting programme that allows you to crack wep codes. It's easily downloadable apparently.

He couldn't help himself and today managed to connect to a neighbouring office's wlan as well as view captured transmissions. He said it was child's play and even I would be able to do it.

Apparently we should be using wpa encryption but not all software supports it.

needless to say I'll be checking with my IT dude this Monday....

this is a known problem

WEP was always insecure ... jsut keeps your random neigbour out... for maximum security use WPA/PSK , which egain comes with a major performance hit on home routers , plus the incompatibility with older hardware.
And even this can be cracked with a little bit more computing power and knowledge.
This said , even in your private network use when possible for sensitive information a secure SSL (https ) or VPN to further encrypt your actual traffic

additional it's wise to restrict acess to your computer even on your local network

yes agree totally,

what troubled me is that a couple of guys who have problems setting up email accounts in outlook can easily hack into someone else's network. even more worrying that it's a known issue yet many networks still only use a wep key!

After my first post i rummaged around my own wifi settings and realised i too am using a wep key only - and i have no idea how to change it! some guy came over and set it all up...

I'm no that much worried about those people, because they don't know what to do further...

if somebody knows what to do he can easily spy out mail passwords , etc you send out unencrypted. thats always a good starting

the fun start if you don't have your computer protected inside the network
Some general rules for an more secure and reliable wifi network.

1. FIRST THING ! Change the administrator password!
2. Change the goddamn administrator password!
3. Check if your changed the admin passwort
4. Change the adminpasswort into something secure!
Means take a RANDOM mix of capital and not capital letters and numbers.
There is enough software out there that just tries to crack a password with a dictionary. NO NAMES, NO DICTIONARY WORDS, at LEAST 8 chars.
5. Turn off SSID Braodcast
Not a real security meassure, just prevents your network showing up in other peoples Windos WIFI Search. To connect to the network you need to know the name.
6. Use WPA or WPA2 encryption
If your hardware/router deosn't support it, it's time to upgrade, although almost every 801.g router supports it, could be a problem with older laptops.
7. Secure Shared Key
The WPA password should also be secure. like the adminpassword above.
Full Length (usually 12 or 16 chars) Password, random mixed letters numbers. NOT the same as the adminpass. No dictionary words ( there is ready software that tries to brute force the encryption with a dictionary special for WPA/PSK).
8. Limit connection to your known MAC adresses.
Every consumergrade router offers this option
9.Use secure connections whenever possible
For sensitve date always try to either use an SSL connection or go througha VPN

This will get your WIFI secure, except from people who REALLY want to get into YOUR Network wireless.
If your completely paranoid and don't leave the house without your industrial strength tinfoil hat, turn off your wifi and plug in your good old cable

Oh and stay away from public hotspots

thanks! hopefully my IT dude is well aware of all this - as far as my home network goes I just changed the admin password - good hint especialy as its a very common brand router!

I guess it's when guys like me who don't know much get easily spooked it sort of escalates....

cheers