Security strategies for wireless networks

The wireless network has gained a permanent place in many home and small-office networks. Devices such as a WLAN router and a DSL or cable modem are available for little or no money from your Internet provider or local electronics shop. Most contemporary computers come with everything you need for wireless networking, and even if you have to upgrade your desktop system for wireless access, PCI WLAN cards for desktops are quite inexpensive.

But the fun stops when you discover that a neighbor has been using your WLAN to surf the web. Although an occasional clandestine surfer might not hurt your bank account in the age of flat-rate access fees, unauthorized surfing can have unpleasant consequences. If that nice guy next door happens to use your Internet connection to do something illegal, you can expect a visit from the police. Even if you don't find yourself in the center of an Internet crime ring, the very presence of an outside user on your network poses any number of security threats. Thus, it is very important – especially if you are still using legacy equipment – to make the most of the security features available with your wireless devices. In this article, I offer some tips for better security on wireless networks.

The 802.11b WLAN devices still used in many private households today belong to a hardware generation that dates back to the late 1990s. These devices support a maximum data transfer rate of 11MBps, with the bandwidth shared among the clients. This overall capacity means that, under perfect technical conditions, you can expect transfer rates of around 5MBps.

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