RadioLAN WNR834B user manual Safeguarding Your Network

NETGEAR RangeMax™ NEXT Wireless Router WNR834B User Manual

Figure 3-1

There are several ways you can enhance the security of your wireless network. In order of increasing effectiveness:

•Turn Off the Broadcast of the Wireless Network Name SSID. If you disable the broadcast of the SSID, only devices that know the correct SSID can connect. This nullifies the wireless network ‘discovery’ feature of some products such as Windows XP, but your data is still fully exposed to an intruder using available wireless eavesdropping tools.

•Restrict Access Based on MAC Address. You can restrict access to only trusted computers so that unknown computers cannot wirelessly connect to the WNR834B. MAC address filtering adds an obstacle against unwanted access to your network by the general public, but the data broadcast over the wireless link is fully exposed. This data includes your trusted MAC addresses, which can be read and impersonated by a hacker.

•WEP. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption provides moderate data security. WEP Shared Key authentication and WEP data encryption can be defeated by a determined eavesdropper using publicly available tools.

•WPA-PSKand WPA2-PSK.Wi-Fi Protected Access with Pre-Shared Key (WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK) data encryption provides extremely strong data security, very effectively blocking eavesdropping. Because WPA and WPA2 are relatively new standards, older wireless adapters and devices may not support them. Check whether newer drivers are available from the manufacturer.

•Turn Off the Wireless LAN. If you disable the wireless LAN, wireless devices cannot communicate with the router at all. You might choose to turn off the wireless LAN when you are away or when other users of your network all use wired connections.

3-2 Safeguarding Your Network

v1.2, January 2007