What You Need to Know About Wireless Networking for Your Home:
This may sound simple to some, but you would be surprised as to how many people are confused with home wireless networking and all the features and fun things you can do with a home network.
It's no secret that the biggest challenge for home Wi-Fi users is securing their wireless LAN. In fact, home and soho wireless networks are rarely secured because the average home user finds it too difficult.
Security is all the talk in wireless networks today, whether at home or in the office -- and for good reason. Which security is best for you?
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) was the premier 128-bit optional encryption standard used to protect a home wireless network. Although wireless routers, access points, and wireless computer adapters for residential use shipped with WEP capabilities, most manufacturers turned WEP off by default. Many home wireless users never bothered to turn it on, so they had no security and no protection from intruders. And those who sorted through the challenges of configuring WEP on home networks often failed to ever change the WEP key. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) used to be the standard, but newer and arguably better security standards have been implemented for wireless.
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), so named by the
Wi-Fi Alliance (The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 300 member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs).
WPA comes in two flavors, that is
WPA-802.1x and
WPA-PSK.
WPA builds upon WEP, making it more secure by adding extra security algorithms and mechanisms to fight intrusion. Perhaps the most important improvement over WEP is a dynamic security key exchange mechanism and much more improved authentication and encryption mechanisms.
It is taking the lead alongside an even newer version, WPA2. Now you don't need to hire a network consultant or find a friendly neighborhood geek to set up wireless security.
Home network with a special WPA mode, called
WPA-PSK (Pre Shared Key), is extra-strong encryption where encryption keys are automatically changed (called
rekeying) and authenticated between devices after a specified period of time, or after a specified number of packets has been transmitted.
WPA-PSK is far superior to WEP and provides stronger protection for the home/SOHO user for two reasons. The process used to generate the encryption key is very rigorous and the rekeying (or key changing) is done very quickly. This stops even the most determined hacker from gathering enough data to break the encryption.
How to set up and configure WPA-PSK in Windows?
Setting up and configuring WPA security depends on the scale of your network and the robustness of security that is sought to be implemented.
Both your access point and your computer need to be capable of working with WPA. WPA support comes by default in new wireless access points, Windows Vista, and Windows XP SP2/3. Older hardware and software needs to be updated to be able to take advantage of WPA.
Wireless access point (router)
First, you need to make sure your access point is capable of WPA. You can find out either from your access point documentation or simply by going through the screens in your access point and searching for something that talks about WPA (try advanced wireless settings). Your router should have options for WPA in its settings. If your router does not support WPA, a firmware update could make your wireless router ready. Go to the manufacturer's website, download firmware for your router and install it.
Go to the > Windows
Start menu, > click
Run, > type
cmd, and hit
Enter.
Then type
ipconfig /all and hit
Enter again.
Look up a line that says
Default G ateway. The number on that line is most likely something like
192.168.1.1. Open your web browser and navigate to that number, in our case it would be
http://192.168.1.1. You will be prompted for login name and password to the router admin interface.
For Singtel User it is usually;
http://192.168.1.254The image show how WPA-PSK can be selected from a list of wireless security setting !
Now let's take a look at other options dealing with wireless security. Some of the listed options are weak when implemented alone and individual users need to determine how applicable and beneficial they are to their infrastructure; however, it is also important to note that although some of these options are weak when implemented by themselves alone, their security impact greatly improves when implemented jointly.
Hide network name SSID
When you buy a wireless router, it comes with a default SSID that's the same for the thousands, or millions, of routers the manufacturer makes.
A good line of defense is to change your network's SSID from the default to a unique name. By itself, this isn't a great defense, because most war-driving software will automatically find the SSIDs of any nearby networks. Windows XP will automatically do the same thing. You also need to tell your network to stop broadcasting its SSID.
One way to further improve the security of a WEP enabled (or any) network is to take advantage of Closed Network Access Control. In an open network, anyone is permitted to join the network. In a closed network, only those clients with knowledge of the network name (SSID) can join. SSID in this case is hidden from being broadcasted visibly to everyone. Unfortunately, there are applications that can display even hidden network names (Kismet, NetStumbler, Airmon-ng, etc.), so this will protect the network from some eyes but not from everyone.
Your router is now invisible to passers-by, but it's also invisible to your own PCs on the network.
Change wireless broadcast channel
Wireless routers and clients can broadcast on several different channels similarly to the way radio stations use different channels.
Most devices are set up by the manufacturer to use channel 11 or 6 by default. When setting up your wireless network, you can freely change your access point to communicate using one of the other channels. Clients not having their wireless cards set up to communicate on the same frequency as your access point will not be able to connect. However, the channel on which the access point operates can be easily detected even by novice hackers; therefore, this is only a very limited security measure.
Enable firewall on the access pointAlthough your network is probably already protected by a firewall, and your internal network clients probably run some firewall as well, it does not hurt to enable firewall on the access point as well in case it is available.
Features of a Router:The market is flooded with routers, and lucky for the consumers, this means cheaper prices and more options and features!
Of course, before any purchase, consult such resources as CNet or Consumer Reports to get a better idea of a product and to access a large pool of consumer feedback.
But usually any router made by Apple, Linksys, Netgear or D-Link will be a solid purchase.
Today’s fastest routers are working on a prototype standard known as “Wireless Draft N” which transfers data wirelessly at 600 Mbit/s.
Previous slower WiFi standards included “A”, “B”, and “G”. Do not get too bogged down in the letters, most routers on today’s market (and the ones reviewed below) will work with N/G/B/A wireless devices.
And unless you are transferring large files (basically movies and TV shows), you will not notice any difference between N/G/B/A standards.
To help refute a myth, “Wireless Draft N” will not make you surf the web any faster, “Wireless Draft N” will increase network speed between your computers and other devices.
Belkin’s New N1 Vision is the First Wireless Router with an Interactive Network Display
Click on the image to view the DEMO.
Belkin’s newest wireless router includes an 3" LCD screen for step-by-step setup and sports the most up to date wireless technology, 802.11n. ‘N’, as it is commonly referred to, supports the fastest connectivity - up to 248 megabits per second - of any wireless spectrum to date, and also boasts the greatest range (up to 750 feet).
It’s probably one of the nicer looking routers out there. It’s finished in a black gloss, which is complimented by the blue LCD screen on its face. If you’re allergic to the dusty look, be warned, the N1 Vision attracts dust specks due to the finish. The Belkin N1 Vision is relatively light weight when compared to other routers.
The N1 also includes a 4 button rubber d-pad. You’ll use it to navigate through the different screens and toggle the router’s different options on and off.
The 3"LCD screen gives you a glance at what is going on inside the router. If you’ve used other routers, then you know that most, if not all routers include a handful of blinking lights and provide no real details about your network. The N1 Vision’s LCD screen provides a variety of screen which include time and date, bandwidth usage per user, and download and upload speed of your network. If you so opt, you can leave the screen on full time, or switch on ‘power save’ mode which will turn the screen off after a few minutes of no use.
Ideal usage:
- Streaming video, music, and photos
- Online gaming
- Surfing the Web
- Chatting with friends
- Emailing
Final thoughts?
The Belkin N1 Vision wireless router is hands down the coolest and most fully features wireless router. It packs lots of speed and features into an attractive4 package at home sitting on your desk, not hidden behind it. it's definitely an attractive design. The LCD screen is also very eye catching as well as people who stop by often ask me "What's that thing?" So it's certainly a conversation piece and earns high marks for it's attractive appearance and construction ratings.
Although this feature is cool and useful to have, the price premium may cause you to at least pause to think about it's added value
The only thing about wireless n is that the spec has not been finalized yet, not until later this year. The wireless n routers that are available right now are “
Wireless N (Draft)*”. If you do decide to buy a draft n wireless router right now hopefully they will work with the final spec or at least be updatable through software. Look for the Wifi Certified draft N logo on the box. And make sure to buy all your 802.11n hardware from the same company, this will ensure everything is compatible
Quote from *Belkin N1 Products :
Although Belkin incorporates all mandatory elements of the IEEE 802.11n draft specification and designs the software to be upgradeable once the standard is finalized, Belkin cannot guarantee upgradeability.
The Belkin N1 Vision wireless router is currently retail @ S$229 at Sim Lim Square.
