Appendix C Configuring Wireless Security

Instant Wireless® Series

Step Two: Pinging for a Web Address

While the IP address returned above would work as your e-mail server address, it may not be permanent. IP addresses change all the time. Web addresses, how- ever, usually don’t. Because of this, you’re likely to have fewer problems by configuring your system with web addresses rather than IP addresses. Follow the instructions below to find the web address assigned to the IP address you just pinged.

1.At the DOS command prompt, type ping -a 24.53.32.4, where 24.53.32.4 is the IP address you just pinged. Information such as the following data will be displayed.

C:\>ping -a 24.53.32.4

Pinging mail.msnv3.occa.home.com [24.53.32.4] with

32 bytes of data:

Reply from 24.53.32.4: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=127

Ping statistics for 24.53.32.4:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

Figure B-2

2.Write down the web address returned by the ping command. (In the exam- ple in Figure C-2, mail.msnv3.occa.home.com is the web address.) This web address is the web address assigned to the IP address you just pinged. While the IP address of mail could conceivably change, it is likely that this web address will not.

3.Replace your ISP’s abbreviated server address with this extended web address in the corresponding Internet application (web browser, e-mail application, etc.).

Once you have replaced the brief server address with the true server address, the Router should have no problem accessing the Internet through that Internet application.

Dual-Band Wireless A+B Broadband Router

Appendix C: Configuring

Wireless Security

Background

The Router offers two wireless security features. The basic feature is Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption, an encryption method used to protect your wireless data communications. WEP uses 64-bit, 128-bit, or 152-bit keys to provide access control to your network and encryption security for every data transmission. To decode a data transmission, each point in a network must use an identical key. Higher encryption levels mean higher levels of security, but due to the complexity of the encryption, they may mean decreased network performance.

You may also have heard the term “40-bit” used in conjunction with WEP encryption. This is simply another term for 64-bit WEP encryption. This level of WEP encryption has been called 40-bit because it uses a 40-bit secret key along with a 24-bit Initialization Vector (40 + 24 = 64). Wireless vendors may use either name. Linksys uses the term “64-bit” when referring to this level of encryption.

Note: WEP encryption is an additional data security measure and not essential for router operation; however, Linksys recommends the use of WEP encryption.

The second wireless security feature is 802.1x. The IEEE 802.1x standard spec- ifies authentication methods for a wireless client, such as a PC, to access a net- work, so network security is enhanced. Based on the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), 802.1x designates how a client accesses a network server, fre- quently a RADIUS server, with the Router acting as an authenticator. When a network uses 802.1x, the identity of the client is verified before the client is allowed network access.

For example, a wireless user may use one of the authentication methods to access a wireless network protected by an authentication server. The user’s PC sends a request to the Router (an access point can be used instead). The Router sends an identification request back to the PC. After the PC sends the Router the identification message, the Router forwards the identification message to the server. If the server accepts the identification message, then the PC is permitted access to the wireless network.