NETGEAR manual Understanding WAG302 Wireless Security Options

Reference Manual for the NETGEAR ProSafe Dual Band Wireless Access Point WAG302

Understanding WAG302 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 WAG302 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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Figure 3-1: WAG302 wireless data security options

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 WAG302. 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.

3-4 Basic Installation and Configuration

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