Wireless now a days is very much secure. It is as secure as any other stuff as long as you are following the security standards & guidelines.

Upgrade 802.11b devices to 802.11g. 802.11b is the most common type of wireless network, but 802.11g is about five times faster. 802.11g is backward-compatible with 802.11b, so you can still use any 802.11b equipment that you have. If you're using 802.11b and you're unhappy with the performance, consider replacing your router and network adapters with 802.11g-compatible equipment. If you're buying new equipment, definitely choose 802.11g.


You may also try some of these other ways to improve your wirless experience.

Position your wireless router (or wireless access point) in a central location. When possible, place your wireless router in a central location in your home. If your wireless router is against an outside wall of your home, the signal will be weak on the other side of your home. Don't worry if you can't move your wireless router, because there are many other ways to improve your connection.

Move the router off the floor and away from walls and metal objects (such as metal file cabinets). Metal, walls, and floors will interfere with your router's wireless signals. The closer your router is to these obstructions, the more severe the interference, and the weaker your connection will be.

Replace your router's antenna. The antennas supplied with your router are designed to be omni-directional, meaning they broadcast in all directions around the router. If your router is near an outside wall, half of the wireless signals will be sent outside your home, and much of your router's power will be wasted. Most routers don't allow you to increase the power output, but you can make better use of the power. Upgrade to a hi-gain antenna that focuses the wireless signals only one direction. You can aim the signal in the direction you need it most.

Add a wireless repeater. Wireless repeaters extend your wireless network range without requiring you to add any wiring. Just place the wireless repeater halfway between your wireless access point and your computer, and you'll get an instant boost to your wireless signal strength. Check out the wireless repeaters from ViewSonic, D-Link, Linksys, and Buffalo Technology.

Replace your computer's wireless network adapter. Wireless network signals must be sent both to and from your computer. Sometimes, your router can broadcast strongly enough to reach your computer, but your computer can't send signals back to your router. To improve this, replace your laptop's PC card-based wireless network adapter with a USB network adapter that uses an external antenna. In particular, consider the Hawking Hi-Gain Wireless USB network adapter, which adds an external, hi-gain antenna to your computer and can significantly improve your range. Laptops with built-in wireless typically have excellent antennas and don't need to have their network adapters upgraded.

Change your wireless channel. Wireless routers can broadcast on several different channels, similar to the way radio stations use different channels. Just like you'll sometimes hear interference on one radio station while another is perfectly clear, sometimes one wireless channel is clearer than others. Try changing your wireless router's channel through your router's configuration page to see if your signal strength improves. You don't need to change your computer's configuration, because it'll automatically detect the new channel.

Reduce wireless interference. If you have cordless phones or other wireless electronics in your home, your computer might not be able to "hear" your router over the noise from the other wireless devices. To quiet the noise, avoid wireless electronics that use the 2.4GHz frequency. Instead, look for cordless phones that use the 5.8GHz or 900MHz frequencies.

Update your firmware or your network adapter driver. Router manufacturers regularly make free improvements to their routers. Sometimes, these improvements increase performance. To get the latest firmware updates for your router, visit your router manufacturer's Web site.

Pick equipment from a single vendor. While a Linksys router will work with a D-Link network adapter, you often get better performance if you pick a router and network adapter from the same vendor. Some vendors offer a performance boost of up to twice the performance when you choose their hardware: Linksys has the SpeedBooster technology, and D-Link has the 108G enhancement.

Since I have been using a wireless network for the last six months I have been rather surprised at the speed and incredible range of security options. Just looking at the list of things you can do which WeaponX has provided, should give you some idea. What he doesn't say is that all these thing are as easy as clicking an option in the process of setting up your network. But I think the most important thing is that the access to your network is physically limited. Someone has to be pretty close by in order to make the attempt. Furthermore I have been rather surprised at how numerous wireless networks are. And most people seem to have made no security precautions at all. Anonymity and avoiding being a target (by using nonstandard non Microsoft software for example) is one of the greatest protections on the internet. Hackers are not so common that one is likely to be in your immediate neighborhood, so the physical limitation and numerous wireless unprotected networks provides a great deal of this anonymity.

Haha. I have to agree with many people that say wireless networking is a bit risky and dangerous as well. And to the one who said having wires is dangerous (tripping and hurting your computer... bringing it down and wasting thousands of dollars) - that is ... errr... a reality but you're taking it to the extreme. I mean, it's you being careful. But still, wires is good.

I think wired systems are faster than wireless system.. in my opinion. Stronger connections and safer too, while wireless and not AS strong but also have the tendency to get intercepted by (sometimes) unwanted variables.

And me, being the slow IT guy, got myself a router and a wireless USB adapter. My computer is 1 floor down and 6~8 meters away from the place but still.. it's horribly slow (most of the time).

There's still a lot of questions need to be answered about these problems but I don't know where. Meh.. sucks