For help in setting up your WLAN, refer to the information provided by your router manufacturer or your ISP.

Protecting your WLAN

When you set up a WLAN or access an existing WLAN, always enable security features to protect your network from unauthorized access. WLANs in public areas (hotspots) like coffee shops and airports may not provide any security. If you are concerned about the security of your computer in a hotspot, limit your network activities to e-mail that is not confidential and basic Internet surfing.

Wireless radio signals travel outside the network, so other WLAN devices can pick up unprotected signals. You can take the following precautions to protect your WLAN:

●Firewall—Checks both data and requests for data that are sent to your network, and discards any suspicious items. Firewalls are available in both software and hardware. Some networks use a combination of both types.

●Wireless encryption—Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2) encrypts and decrypts data transmitted over the network. WPA uses Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) to dynamically generate a new key for every packet. It also generates different sets of keys for each computer on the network. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encrypts data before it is transmitted using a WEP key. Without the correct key, others will not be able to use the WLAN.

Roaming to another network

When you move your computer within range of another WLAN, the operating system attempts to connect to that network. If the attempt is successful, your computer is automatically connected to the new network. If the operating system does not recognize the new network, follow the same procedure you used initially to connect to your WLAN.

18 Chapter 3 Networking