NETGEAR WAG102NA manual Understanding WAG102 Wireless Security Options

ProSafe Dual Band Wireless Access Point WAG102 Reference Manual (802.11a/g)

Understanding WAG102 Wireless Security Options

Your wireless data transmissions can be received well beyond your walls by anyone with a compatible adapter. For this reason, use the security features of your wireless equipment. The WAG102 Wireless Access Point provides highly effective security features, which are covered in detail in this chapter. Deploy the security features appropriate to your needs.

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There are several ways you can enhance the security of your wireless network:

•Restrict Access Based on MAC address. You can restrict access to only trusted PCs so that unknown PCs cannot wirelessly connect to the WAG102. MAC address filtering adds an obstacle against unwanted access to your network, but the data broadcast over the wireless link is fully exposed.

•Turn Off the Broadcast of the Wireless Network Name (SSID). If you disable broadcast of the SSID, only devices that have the correct SSID can connect. This nullifies the wireless network “discovery” feature of some products such as Windows XP, but the data is still fully exposed to a determined snoop using specialized test equipment like wireless sniffers.

•Use WEP. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption provides data security. WEP Shared Key authentication and WEP data encryption will block all but the most determined eavesdropper.

•Use WPA or WPA-PSK.Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) data encryption provides data security. The very strong authentication along with dynamic per frame rekeying of WPA make it virtually impossible to compromise. Because this is a new standard, wireless device driver and software availability may be limited.

Basic Installation and Configuration 2-3

v2.0, September 2006