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Securing Your Wireless Home Network Through MAC Filtering

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:08:37 +0000

One problem with wireless networks is that people who have wireless devices that are within the range of your network can access them. Even if you have set up a password for your wireless network, that password can also be hacked and access to your network can be gained. One way to further tighten up your network security is through MAC filtering.

MAC filtering is a network security procedure that only allows access to registered MAC addresses. A MAC address is the unique ID of a network device; no two computers or network device has the same. What this means is that only registered and authorized machines can access your wireless network. So even if they somehow managed to break or hack your password, they won’t still have access if their address is not registered. This is a very effective way to ensure the network security of your wireless home network.

What you need to do is enable the MAC filtering function of your wireless router or access points. Most routers at present have this function. Next, you need to input the MAC address of the computers in your home network. Getting the MAC address is different from one operating system to another, but this should be found in the properties of the network device. Check your computer’s manual or technical support for the procedure on getting the MAC address.

So, if you’re very particular about the network security of your wireless network, then one thing you can do is to enable MAC filtering in your network.

By: Tiraton Athiwat

Wireless Network Standards – 80211a, 80211b, 80211g, 80211n, 80216

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:25:45 +0000

The following describes the current defined wireless protocol standards.

802.11a

This standard was approved in 1999 with the IEEE committee. It specifies a maximum data rate of 54 Mbps using 5.15 GHz – 5.35 GHz and 5.725 GHz – 5.825 GHz unlicensed bands in the United States. The advantage of 802.11a is higher throughput however the cell coverage is smaller and additional access points will be needed. There is much less interference from devices such as cell phones, microwaves and commercial devices using the 2.4 GHz band. There are 23 non-overlapping channels with the current 802.11h specification.

Broadcom WLAN Network Adapters For Home and Enterprise

admin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:55:23 +0000

Are you looking to make the entire connectivity infrastructure of your organization wireless? Among the best products you can consider are Broadcom WLAN network adapters. These products can work with any standards compliant product to deliver an end to end connectivity infrastructure where the only case of wires being used would be power cables and in certain cases, primary connectivity of extremely high speed. Broadcom products are reliable and affordable.

One of the key product lines from the company is Broadcom AirForce. This is a family of products which includes really advanced and sophisticated WiFi circuitry. The devices are usable in end user devices like mobile phones and laptop computers to enterprise grade networking solutions like gateways and access points. Blade servers from various companies are also known to integrate these solutions. The company has been true to IEEE 802.11 class standards.

You can find Broadcom solutions in the AirForce family include 802.11 a, 802.11 b, 54g and the Intensi-fi class products. These products are specially designed to act as a component on the devices which are interoperable, provide the best possible security and still are really easy to use. These products are able to satify all the consumer demands. You can find Broadcom solutions in products from Linksys/Cisco, Dell, Motorola, Hewlett Packard, Belkin, Lenovo, Apple, eMachines etc.

The main features of Broadcom solutions are their all-CMOS design and SmartRadio performance. These are specially enhanced technologies which make it possible for the device to deliver the best performance even while consuming the least amount energy. The company has also made great efforts to ensure that the products from the company have a common architecture. This means that design and deployment of a complete WiFi solution is a very easy task.

Another really important innovation made in the WLAN sector by Broadcom is the OneDriver software. You do not have to fiddle around with a number of different driver software packages. The company solutions. Not only does it make deployment of the WiFi infrastructure easier but far more simple and easy to administer and upgrade. Driver upgrades would never be a headache again.

The company has also delivered a number of standards based enhancements. Consider for example XPress Technology and 125 High Speed mode. These technologies can substantially enhance the overall throughput of the network. Then there is BroadRange. This technology makes it possible to get the best performance even at the edges of network range. Imagine having a directional antenna range in all directions. SecureEasySetup makes security settings a push button solution.

Other main features of these products are support for WPA and WPA2 as well as AES encryption. The devices also support CCX4 Cisco Compatible Extensions. You can deploy routers and use scanner and detector software solutions to do network security testing. Wireless communication in PC and printing devices has never been easier. Broadcom WLAN network adapters make getting rid of wires a really easy and affordable task.

By: Paul Abbey

Wireless Network Installation and Configuration

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:18:29 +0000

You might just be at that point, where the small, wired home network you created a few months ago just is not doing it for you anymore and you want to extend it with a wireless network. Of course, you might as well be at that point, where you want to build a completely new network. Whichever the reason may be, the problem is the same – you need to know exactly how to do a wireless network installation.

Most of the time, you will find it necessary to install a wireless router. Now, you will only need to install one of these if you either are building your first home network or simply want to keep the wireless network installation at the simplest level as possible. Remember to install the router in a somewhat central location in your home so this way all receivers will be almost in the same line of sight. You see, with wireless internet, the speed depends on the distance from the router to the receiver. All you have to do now is connect your router to a power source, and of course an Internet source. Nowadays many routers support broadband modems and even dial-up connections. Still, when you buy a router make sure that it has an RS-232 serial port if you need the dial-up connection, because otherwise you will find yourself having a useless router. Last, but not least, you can also connect a wired router (called a switch or a hub) because wireless routers generally do contain built-in access points.

Now choose the name of your network. Often with Wi-Fi the network names are generically called SSID. Of course, this SSID has to be identical with all computers that are sharing the same wireless router. For your own protection, it is recommended that no matter what name your router manufacturer set to change it to something else. In order to find a network name for your router all you have to do is consult the product documentation. Finally, read the documentation to find out how to handle WEP security and also how to turn on firewall features and how to set other options.

Wireless Access Points

One wireless type network connection is supported by only one access point. It is very important to remember this further on. It is recommended to use this type of access point only if you indeed need the features that only a wireless router can provide and also you want to have more than three or four computers around the house that will be connected to the internet. You can read more at http://www.howtosetupwirelessnetwork.com

The positioning rule is the same as with wireless routers – access points have to be placed in a central location so that all receivers will be in the same line of sight. Plug in the power cord and if necessary the dial-up internet connection as well. Now cable the access points to your hub or switch. In this case, you will not have to configure any firewalls at all, yet you will still have to set a network name and enable the WEP function.

Giving these two options of installing a wireless network in your house, from this point on, all you have to do is install them in your own operating system and you’re good to go.

By: Dean Forster