Laptop Security: Firewalls and Encryption
Outside the Lines
If you use a wireless network at home, remember that the signals may reach beyond your walls or property line. Without certain safeguards in place, your neighbors (or even a hacker parked on the street) could log into your network and intercept your signals. One low-tech solution is to move your wireless router far from outer walls. You can also configure your network to reject all connection attempts from unrecognized computers and devices.
Lock Up the Computer
When you connect to wireless hotspots away from home, you have no control over how the network is set up, but you can still safeguard your transmissions through encryption technology. Encryption makes it harder for hackers to make sense of your wireless transmissions. (They may tap into your signals, but the information won't be readable.) All the encoding and deciphering happens in the background, so you can use all of your software and connect to your favorite Web sites, just as before.
The Classroom Firewall
Every Internet connection needs intelligent traffic controls to route data from point to point. Firewalls pay attention to where connections are coming from and what they're connecting to. If you're visiting Web Site A, and your system gets traffic from Site B, the firewall either turns the traffic back or asks you if you want to let it through. Firewalls can consist of hardware, software, or a combination of the two. Software firewalls are particularly flexible, and they're easy to install and configure.
You can protect your students and still enjoy the benefits of mobile computing if you follow these simple steps:
- Ensure your students understand the importance of safeguarding wireless data.
- Configure your classroom network and computers for enhanced security.
- Use strong passwords and other simple precautions to maximize your data security.
