Protection of devices from malicious attacks in the WiFi network with the "Wireless MAC Filtering" method
Panos Alexopoulos
Last Update 2 jaar geleden
Many of HAM Systems' customers use our devices to record measurements and data that are particularly important for the proper operation of their business. Several of them manage professional equipment such as refrigerators and freezers, which are used to store and preserve valuable products (e.g. medical, pharmaceutical, edible, etc.). It is therefore understandable that they seek the uninterrupted operation of our recording devices to meet their ever-increasing needs.
Since all HAM Systems devices need to be connected to a wireless Wi-Fi network to be able to communicate with our cloud in order to efficiently capture and send the necessary readings and data to our customers, it is reasonable that some concerns and questions arise regarding the prevention and protection against malicious attacks on the networks that can compromise the devices.
For the purpose of preventing such incidents, the intervention of a special systems security technician is not always required, as one would think. On the contrary, each of our customers can themselves, with a few simple steps, implement the "Wireless MAC Filtering" method for their wireless network and achieve the protection of their devices.
What is "Wireless MAC Filtering"?
"Wireless MAC Filtering" or "MAC Address Filtering" is a security method based on access control. Essentially, we create a list of several MAC addresses, for each of which we determine, at our discretion, whether or not to allow them access. In other words, this method helps to list a set of allowed devices that you need on your Wi-Fi and a list of denied devices that you don't want on your Wi-Fi.
What is a "MAC Address"?
A "MAC Address is a unique identifier assigned to each device connected to a network, such as Wi-Fi, and is unique for each device. In other words, each different device connected to your Wi-Fi (e.g. Smartphone, H/Y, HAM Systems devices, etc.) is given a specific MAC address, identical each time, as its unique attribute. This is always in the form "A0:B1:C2:D3:E4:F5", with the letters and numbers differentiated depending on the device.
How can I implement the "Wireless MAC Filtering" method without the help of a professional technician?
First of all, in order to protect your HAM Systems devices from external interference, you need to allow only certain devices you want to access your Wi-Fi network through "Wireless MAC Filtering".
Below we demonstrate, step-by-step, the way in which you can apply this technique yourself. The pictures show illustrative examples. The tools and settings vary from provider to provider, but the methodology is similar.
1. You need to know the MAC addresses of the devices you want to access your Wi-Fi. Here are references to our articles which provide a detailed explanation of how to find the MAC addresses you want:
- For a mobile phone, Smartphone or iPhone, go to our relevant article.
- For PC, Windows or macOS, go to our related article.
- For HAM Systems devices, go to our related article.
Once you have found and recorded the relevant addresses, proceed to the next step.
2. Open a browser on a computer connected to the specific Wi-Fi for which you will apply the filtering and type the following in the search bar: "192.168.1.1". A login page will appear in your network settings. In our picture another address is shown due to an example.
3. Fill in your account login details, which, if not changed, are usually the following: Username "admin" and the password indicated on the back of our router. You can go into more detail about this in your router's manual, or contact your network provider.
4. After you sign in to your account, look for the Wi-Fi settings in the central menu, which may be referred to as "Wireless" or "Wireless Network Settings", and open the tab that refers to "Wireless MAC Filtering".
5. You can see an empty table of MAC addresses for filtering. We click "Add New" in order to add a new MAC address from the ones we have recorded previously.
6. Then, enter the MAC address you want in the first box labeled "MAC Address". In the "Description" section enter a qualifier that indicates our intent for this device (e.g. "Access"). Set "Status" to "Enabled". Finally, in the "Host" tab, select the name of that Wi-Fi network you want to apply filtering to and click "Save". Repeat the process for the rest of your devices.
7. Check the "Allow" box to allow access to the devices in the list.
8. Press "Enable" to initiate the filtering process.
9. You can at any time disable this feature by pressing "Disable", add or remove devices in the list via "Add New" and "Delete Selected", give or remove permissions from the devices in the list via "Edit".
