Securing Access Points?

So I am running a network of 4 wireless computers at home, and two hotswap 'desks', so up to 6 computers at times. I have an encrypted network, using WEP, I know I know insecure etc etc. I have AVG and zone alarm on every computer, a hardware fire wall in the router. Right, two computers are on the same network for sharing different printers, the others are not.

Now my question is as follows, I am using belkin dongles, which I cannot seem to secure. ie, it must be possible for someone to access each computer in turn, just by accessing the unencrypted dongles, even if they cannot access the network directly. Is this true, if so how do I encrypt each dongle, as opposed to the network as a whole to prevent such access. The software just does not appear to allow it.

 

If your Network does not have Internet connection and configured Ad-Hoc, an intruder would access the computers.
Otherwise, an intruder would not access the Client dongles he would access your Wireless source (Wireless Router or Access point) and from there would access the Internet and your Network.

If you use static IPs on your computers and put them as an only allowed IPs and software Firewall, you would have some kind of protection for you computer. The Internet connection would be still wide open.

From the weakest to the Strongest..
No Security
MAC
WEP
WPA-PSK
WPA-AES
WPA2
-------------------------------------------
Wireless Security - http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Security.html

WEP, WPA, and the Future - http://www.ezlan.net/wpa_wep.html

The security must be set according to lowest capable Wireless component.

I.e. even most of you Wireless are capable to do WPA2, but one device is only capable to do WEP, the whole system must be configured to WEP.

 

The router is pretty secure. My fear is that the seperate computers can be accessed, and then the networks. I do use firewalls on all the computers, and I do specify only the IP's of the computers on the network. But I have a long running arguement with an IT guy who recons this is still not secure enough and that the dongles themselves have to be encrypted, as you would a network, but I just dont see how and suspect he might be wrong.

 

Network Computers cannot be accessed directly when they are configured to infra structure mode (this I s the mode they communicate with a Wireless Router).

 

You are confusing general Router security with Wireless security.

Wireless security must match between the dongles and the Router Wireless section otherwise, it would not work. If the Dongles are not encrypted the Wireless in the Router is Not encrypted too, and every one with a laptop computer can access your Network through the Router.

This highly unsecured and the IT guy is right.

 

As I understand it no-one can access my router directly. It is WEP encrypted and I know the router cannot be accessed without a password as I proved to myself when I lost the key a while ago and had to access the network. Stupid me.

I guess my question is really a simple one. If you plug a dongle into your computer can be be used as an access point by someone else to get into your machine. If so, can it be encrypted. This is assuming it is not on a wireless network and no router comes into play.