WIRELESS
NETWORKS
Safe Wireless Networking
Wireless network are becoming more and more popular at home. Wireless
networks can allow you the freedom of movement around your home while
maintaining the connections between your computers.
Unlike traditional wired networks wireless networks do not have the
inherent security provided by a physical connection. Because of this a
little more thought needs to go into the setup of your network.
Wireless connections are sophisticated two way radios. Radio
signals are not stopped by the walls of your house and will leak out
into the surrounding area. Your wireless access point could be
available to most of your neighbours or even passing cars if you don’t
take some precautions. Some hackers will ‘wardrive’ around cities and
towns looking for unsecured wireless networks to attack.
Wireless basics
SSID
Wireless access points (AP) use a special value called a SSID
(Service Set Identifier) to distinguish wireless networks from one
another. Access points often arrive preconfigured with defaults set by
the manufacturer. If you don't change these values (which are well
known), it's easy for outsiders to detect and attempt to access a
wireless network. You should always immediately reset your SSIDs
following the normal rules for strong passwords (not easy to guess,
mixture of letters, numbers, and other characters, and so forth). See
the documentation that came with your access point and wireless card
for details on how to set SSIDs on your network. You should if possible
set your AP to not broadcast the SSID. You will be able to set the SSID
into your computers directly without requiring it to be broadcast.
WEP
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a method of securing the
connection between your computers and the AP. WEP is an older method of
securing a wireless connection and it has serious flaws. If you are
buying wireless networking hardware avoid devices which only support
WEP. WEP security can be broken in 3-5 minutes and should be avoided if
other forms of security are available. WEP is better than nothing but
not by much.
WEP2
WEP2 was a slight improvement over the original WEP security. It
still has major security flaws and should still be avoided if other
security types are available.
WPA
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a newer security method. It is
significantly more secure than WEP and WEP2. WPA should always be used
in preference over WEP. WPA still has some flaws in its security but
these are much harder to discover and break.
WPA2
WPA2 is an improvement to WPA offering even stronger security. This
is quite new and might not be available on every AP and wireless
adapter. WPA2 should be used if it is available to you but you should
check your wireless equipment to ensure that it can use WPA2, if in any
doubt use WPA.
Change your Keys
When using WEP or WPA to secure your network you will need to provide
pass phrases for the AP to use. These should be quite long and unique.
You should change these keys every 4-6 weeks for extra security.
With your SSID hidden and using WPA your wireless network will be
secure against any nosy neighbours or any wardriving hackers.
.
Original Tutorial
by Aspman
for TheTAZZone-TAZForum
Originally posted on August 30th, 2006 here
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