Wireless Networks vs. Wired: Which Network is More Secure?
Wireless networks are rapidly becoming the popular standard in home networking. Not only do they allow you to access the Internet from anywhere in your home, they make web surfing and file sharing incredibly convenient—and can eliminate cable clutter by eliminating the cables themselves.
That’s particularly valuable when you consider that today’s networks might include other devices such as game consoles, music systems, and even telephony. Where are you going to hide – not to mention hook up – all those Ethernet cables? For families with children making their presence (virtual and otherwise) felt, all the cables were just an eye soar stretching from room to room.
But there are times when wired networks make sense.
Let’s say that you live in a house that was pre-wired with Ethernet cable, with a port in every room. That’s not uncommon in many homes built during our latest housing boom. In that case, the simplicity and security of a wired home work in your favor. You just need a router to ensure that you can all share access to printers, file servers and the Internet…and a simple way to set up, visualize and manage the network.
Don’t get us wrong. Advances in wireless technology mean they are just as secure as wired networks – as long as you set them up properly. Theoretically, anyway, it is harder to hack into a wired network than a wireless one that has not been set up with proper encryption, password protection and MAC addressing.
Both wired and wireless networks require routers to share files, resources and a single Internet connection. If you use WPA encryption, strong passwords and MAC addressing on your wireless network, there is virtually no difference in security; both are equally impervious to attacks. However, many users who are concerned about the security of the network completely undermine their own security by not taking the proper steps, or for doing something that no software or infrastructure could ever prevent: falling for social engineering scams that result in users themselves providing their own credit card numbers, social security numbers or passwords to a seemingly legitimate (but bogus) email.
How can you be sure that your network – wired or wireless – is secure? One way is by using a home network management program like Network Magic. It helps you set up, configure, secure and manage your home network without endless calls to help lines or scratching your head over confusing exec-file language. The same intuitive wizards will walk you through these easy steps on either type of network.
It seems clear that wireless networks are the wave of the future. But whichever type of network you use in your home, securing it is key.
If you have any immediate questions, feel free to ask us in the comment section below. We’re also on Facebook and Twitter.
Posted by Johanna Fry at 11:36AM PST
Johanna Fry
seo suffolk Aug 21, 2009
I have never really looked much into my security with being wireless or wired. The only thing I have on ethernet is my xbox and the rest wireless. I do think alot of people including myself just “plug and play” as most people are quite lazy(including myself).
Ill have a look at networkmagic thank you