6 Tech Mistakes Users Make Right Out of the Box

It's a Wi-Fi poacher's dream: Seeing a network named "linksys" with no lock. Blame the manufacturers who make it unnecessarily complicated to punch in IP addresses and set up WPA, or blame the hapless customer who plugs in the CAT-5 cable, sees the green light, and calls it a day. Either way it's a simple error far too many people make. Expect your download speeds to slow dramatically as squatters suck up the bandwidth, especially if you live within range of a coffee-serving institution. Before I could install Internet at my current apartment, I frequented a cafe with no Internet of its own where the staff would encourage patrons to draw from the rival shop across the street.

If you're the proprietor of an unintentionally open network, go forth and administrate. For most routers, fire up your browser and go to http://192.168.2.1? an IP address that works for Netgear and Linksys. Find where it mentions WPA, and set up security from there. Mac users: Invest in an Apple Airport, which will optimize settings for Apple devices and has an idiot-proof Airport Utility program to help you set up your security preferences. And for Pete's sake, don't set your password as "pa55w0rd."

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/tips/6-tech-mistakes-users-make-right-out-of-the-box?src=rss

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