Need some network wifi help

[grasshopper]

I need some wifi advice, I have never paid much attention to my wireless security. No one lives within a ½ mile of the homestead, so I never worried about anyone getting into files that I share with the wife on our network. Well I received an email from our new neighbors moving down from Canada. They are moving to a home that is off the grid solar only. They asked if they can come down and borrow some bandwidth until they get some sort of internet service. Of course I said yes, now what do I do with my network to keep my files secure. Should I set up a guest use, or just stop file sharing for a while. To tell the truth my network is wide open and I guess I need to secure it better. My network router is using WPA2-PSK security. Any help would be appreciated.

david

 

[LOL!]

I don't think you have to do anything except give them the password to your network.

You don't "share files" automatically anyways. You can turn off your computers when they are using your network if you feel threatened.

 

[Alan]

I agree with LOL. For them to access files on your computer you will have had to set up a home computer network, add their computer to it and actively share files and folders with other computers on the network.

We have a home network so we can easily transfer and copy files between our computers. It is hard enough to share files when you really want you.

Giving your friends the WPA key so they can connect to your router and the internet is a very slow security risk.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Maybe the following is the default, and you probably already have done this, but I'd do the following at a minimum.

I'm sure you have your computer's firewall turned on (in control panel, look at Windows Firewall).

And you should turn filesharing off (in control panel, look at network and sharing center, advanced sharing settings--turn off filesharing and public folder sharing).

 

[FIREd]

I don't know what kind of router you have but, on mine, I have the option to create a guest network.

 

[grasshopper]

I don't know what kind of router you have but, on mine, I have the option to create a guest network.

Bing Bing Bing, we have a winner, I had to download new firmware, but it looks like that will work.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

While your computer should be safe, if your friend's computer gets a virus or inadvertently becomes part of a bot network that sends out spam or phishing emails from his computer, it will be coming from your IP address (since he is on your network), which could result in your IP address getting blacklisted. For this reason, I would be very reluctant to let someone outside my household share my network. Also, any web site he visits that records IP addresses of visitors will record yours in its logs.