I am living in my school’s dorm, and would like to have wireless access. Since my school doesn’t allow this, is there any way I can hide the router?
Let me start off by stating that I do not advise you to do this. The bottom line is that you cannot 100% effectively hide your wireless network, and your school is likely to enforce their rules with discipline should you get caught.
What you are referring to is known as a rogue access point in the I.T. world. Rogue access points pose a serious security threat to any organization because they enable unauthorized access to to an otherwise secure network. You might not be the only one using your WiFi signal — if it is not properly configured, anyone within range of your router may be able to gain access.
The level of seriousness with which rouge access points are treated varies from organization to organization. You might get away with installing your router simply because your school doesn’t actively scan for them. If such is the case, do not confuse their apathy with an inability to track you down.
You most likely will not be able to hide your wireless router from an IT staff that is actively hunting down such devices. There exist wireless intrusion detection systems that scan for and report unauthorized wireless access points. These systems are very good at what they do.
If you insist on going forward with setting up an unauthorized WiFi network, you can at least do your I.T. department a favor and secure things to the best of your ability.
- Password-protect your router. Most routers ship with a default administrator username and password. Changing this should be your first order of business in order to prevent unauthorized users from changing configuration settings.
- Disable SSID broadcasting. This prevents your signal from appearing in the list of available wireless connections on others’ computers.
- Use wireless encryption. Here’s an example of how to do it with the Linksys WRT-54G.
- Use MAC Address Filtering to list the only computers and devices who are authorized to connection.
All of these features are supported on your typical store-bought wireless router. For specific instructions for individual models, consult the manual.
Once again, if your school or organization disallows unauthorized wireless access points, you should not set one up. Don’t tempt fate!
