Chapter 7 Wireless LAN

Because of the damage that can be done by a malicious attacker, it’s not just people who have sensitive information on their network who should use security. Everybody who uses any wireless network should ensure that effective security is in place.

A good way to come up with effective security keys, passwords and so on is to use obscure information that you personally will easily remember, and to enter it in a way that appears random and does not include real words. For example, if your mother owns a 1970 Dodge Challenger and her favorite movie is Vanishing Point (which you know was made in 1971) you could use “70dodchal71vanpoi” as your security key.

Signal Problems

Because wireless networks are radio networks, their signals are subject to limitations of distance, interference and absorption.

Problems with distance occur when the two radios are too far apart. Problems with interference occur when other radio waves interrupt the data signal. Interference may come from other radio transmissions, such as military or air traffic control communications, or from machines that are coincidental emitters such as electric motors or microwaves. Problems with absorption occur when physical objects (such as thick walls) are between the two radios, muffling the signal.

7.3 Before You Begin

Before you start using these screens, ask yourself the following questions. See Section 7.2 on page 150 if some of the terms used here do not make sense to you.

•What wireless standards do the other wireless devices support (IEEE 802.11g, for example)? What is the most appropriate standard to use?

•What security options do the other wireless devices support (WPA-PSK, for example)? What is the best one to use?

•Do the other wireless devices support WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup)? If so, you can set up a well-secured network very easily.

Even if some of your devices support WPS and some do not, you can use WPS to set up your network and then add the non-WPS devices manually, although this is somewhat more complicated to do.

•What advanced options do you want to configure, if any? If you want to configure advanced options, ensure that you know precisely what you want to do. If you do not want to configure advanced options, leave them alone.

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P-2812HNU-51c User’s Guide