Simple protection for my wireless network -- any advice?

I have a wireless router at home for my home net and find that i can link
into it with my IPAQ on the street or next door.

What is the current thought on how to easily and inexpensively be able to
block outsiders from our network. I understand we dont ever have full
protection, but what are the simplest ways to get some protection? WEP?
other ways?
Is there any sort of step by step guide to doing this anywhere out there on
the net?

thanks in advance. m. pls respond to info ((at)) kramden .dot. net

Each device "should" have a MAC address. Check your IPAQ for it's MAC
address. In your router's menu, you "should" be able to allow and
deny access to your network (wirelessly) by typing in the MAC address
of the authorized device(s). It is not fail safe because MAC
addresses can be cloned. Still, it is an initial defense.
Furthermore, I suggest you enable encryption. WPA is preferred, but
if you only have WEP, enable it and create a long passphrase using a
mixture of letters, numbers and symbols. For added security, change
the passphrase once a week or so. Most routers double as a hardware
firewall. I suggest you acquire a software firewall to mainly monitor
outbound traffic. Anyway, I hope these suggestions help. Take care.

On Tue, 3 Aug 2004 12:10:26 -0400, "md" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>I have a wireless router at home for my home net and find that i can link
>into it with my IPAQ on the street or next door.
>
>What is the current thought on how to easily and inexpensively be able to
>block outsiders from our network. I understand we dont ever have full
>protection, but what are the simplest ways to get some protection? WEP?
>other ways?
>Is there any sort of step by step guide to doing this anywhere out there on
>the net?
>
>thanks in advance. m. pls respond to info ((at)) kramden .dot. net
>