How to Monitor your wireless connection

Q. I’ve recently read a bunch in the national press regarding so-called Wi-Fi theft and the ways in which people piggyback onto their neighbours wireless connections to commit online crimes. If I wanted to check if somebody was using my wireless router to access the net without my permission, would I be right in thinking that if I opened the My Network Places dialog and selected View Workgroup Computers, I would be able to see intruding users? If not, then what’s the best way to monitor my wireless security?
A. Intruders will usually only show up in My Network Places if the intruder is using the same workgroup name as you. The best place to look is in your router’s admin area, to see which computers are connected. If your router is set to act as a DHCP server, which most are, then the intruder’s computer name will show up. However, you shouldn’t have intruders if you have properly secured your network, so let us show you how.
Step 1:
Login to your router and go to the area where you can change network settings. Have a look to see if your router assigns IP addresses through DHCP, which is the default. Examine the list of attached devices, if you don’t recognise them, you may have an intruder.
Step 2:
The best way to stop anybody connecting to your router without permission is to use WEP or preferably WPA encryption. Set your router to use WPA-Personal and the WPA2 standard if possible. Choose and enter your pass phrase and give it only to those who must connect.
Step 3:
If you router doesn’t support WPA, or you don’t want to use encryption, you can use MAC authorisation instead. You will must know the MAC address of your Wi-Fi card, as well as enter it into your router. You can use this alongside standard security for the utmost protection.