ZyXEL Communications NWA1120 Series 1.4 Configuring Your NWA’s Security Features, 1.5Good Habits for Managing the NWA

Chapter 1 Introducing the NWA

1.4 Configuring Your NWA’s Security Features

Your NWA comes with a variety of security features. This section summarizes these features and provides links to sections in the User’s Guide to configure security settings on your NWA. Follow the suggestions below to improve security on your NWA and network.

1.4.1 Control Access to Your Device

Ensure only people with permission can access your NWA.

•Control physical access by locating devices in secure areas, such as locked rooms. Most NWAs have a reset button. If an unauthorized person has access to the reset button, they can then reset the device’s password to its default password, log in and reconfigure its settings.

•Change any default passwords on the NWA, such as the password used for accessing the NWA’s web configurator (if it has a web configurator). Use a password with a combination of letters and numbers and change your password regularly. Write down the password and put it in a safe place.

•See Section 11.5 on page 113 for instructions on changing your password.

•Configure remote management to control who can manage your NWA. See Chapter 9 on page 94 for more information. If you enable remote management, ensure you have enabled remote management only on the IP addresses, services or interfaces you intended and that other remote management settings are disabled.

1.4.2Wireless Security

Wireless devices are especially vulnerable to attack. Take the following measures to improve wireless security.

•Enable wireless security on your NWA. Choose the most secure encryption method that all devices on your network support. See Section 6.6 on page 73 for directions on configuring encryption. If you have a RADIUS server, enable IEEE 802.1x or WPA(2) user identification on your network so users must log in. This method is more common in business environments.

•Hide your wireless network name (SSID). The SSID can be regularly broadcast and unauthorized users may use this information to access your network. See Section 6.5 on page 71 for directions on using the web configurator to hide the SSID.

•Enable the MAC filter to allow only trusted users to access your wireless network or deny unwanted users access based on their MAC address. See Section 6.9 on page 83 for directions on configuring the MAC filter.

1.5Good Habits for Managing the NWA

Do the following things regularly to make the NWA more secure and to manage it more effectively.

•Change the password. Use a password that’s not easy to guess and that consists of different types of characters, such as numbers and letters.

•Write down the password and put it in a safe place.

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	NWA1120 Series User’s Guide