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Wireless Security

General

Security on Wireless networks is a little more difficult than security in wired networks because you can not stop outsiders having access to hear what is going on.
This means we have to either make the system open so anyone can use it and lock down all the devices on the network or
We stop people getting into the network. To prevent access we can use a process to monitor the MAC address of the hardware that is connecting to the network and give access based on that.
Access is only one issue since the data that is being sent even if a user can get in, they can still see the data so we need to obscure it by encryption.

Encryption

By setting the access point to use WEP (Wired equivalent privacy) we can stop the majority of users seeing what data is being transferred. This will require the setting up of a WEP key in the access point and also entering that into the computer connecting to the network. If you have access to WEP encrypted network then the first time you connect you will be asked for the WEP KEY. Failure to provide a valid key will prevent you having access. The KEY is obtained from the ACCESS POINT or your system administrator.

MAC Authentication

Each piece of hardware has a MAC address. This is individual to the card and if the card is moved from one computer to another the MAC address is part of the card so will go with it. If the access point has MAC filtering turned on then only if your MAC address is in the approved list will you be able to gain access. MAC address can be set to accepted or rejected.
To find the MAC address of a computer go to dos window (cmd) and type ipconfig /all. You will be shown all the hardware and their respective IP and MAC addresses.


 
Simple firewall