Microsoft MN-820 manual Help Protect Your Network from Unauthorized Access

Help Protect Your Network from Unauthorized Access

Because wireless networks use radio signals, it is possible for other wireless network devices outside your immediate area to pick up the signals and either connect to your network or capture the network traffic. To help prevent unauthorized connections or the possibility of eavesdroppers listening in on your network traffic, do the following:

OPlace the base station toward the center of your home. This decreases the strength of the signal outside your home.

OUse media access control (MAC) filtering. You can use MAC filtering to grant or deny users the ability to connect to your network based on the MAC addresses of the adapters they are using. For information about MAC filtering, see Broadband Network Utility Help.

OEnable wireless security on your network. You can enable two types of wireless security on your network:

O Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). WEP provides 64-bit or 128-bit encryption. When you enable WEP, you establish a WEP key that scrambles or “encrypts” the data being transmitted between wireless nodes so that it is decipherable only by computers that have the WEP key. In addition, only users who know the network WEP key can join your network and use your Internet connection.

O Wi-Fi Protected Access™ (WPA). Like WEP, WPA provides data encryption and enforces user authentication. When you enable WPA, however, you establish a WPA passphrase instead of a key. Although WPA is a more sophisticated form of encryption than WEP, you can only enable it on computers running Windows XP operating system with Service Pack 1 installed and the WPA Support Patch. You can download the Windows XP Support Patch for WPA at www.support.microsoft.com.

Note You cannot enable both types of wireless security on your network. You must choose either WEP or WPA. If you decide to enable WPA, make sure all the clients on your network meet the specified system requirements.

For more information about WEP and WPA, see Broadband Network Utility Help.

42Microsoft Broadband Networking Wireless Notebook Kit User’s Guide

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