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-- Thetechlounge Expert, Thetechlounge  0 out of 0 found this reivew helpful |
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| Introduction Network Security! (*Crickets chirp…) Where did everyone go? Similar reactions can be expected from such topics as mortgages, financial planning, and my all-time favorite, the tax audit. The need for network security is an unfortunate side effect of our ever-growing dependence on computers and the networks they run on. With the onslaught of internet worms, hackers around every virtual corner, and the usual band of miscreants that ruin everything for the rest of us, it’s no wonder the average consumer doesn’t have time to keep up with all of the latest advancements in security. Add to this the desire to go wireless, and now you have added into the mix a jumble of transfer standards, security standards and basically created a big ‘ol mess. Since things have become so complicated, many just ignore security altogether which is why we have so many open access points broadcasting peoples’ hard-earned internet connection. However, all hope is not lost. So what if you can’t tell WEP from WAP, or WPA from AP? You no longer have to – or so claims McAfee, speaking about their new Wireless Home Network Security software. McAfee has been kind enough to provide me with a copy of their latest software package designed for those who want a secure wireless experience, but just don’t have the time to dig through a host of unknown acronyms. The package I am looking at today is their Wireless Home Network Security product. This can be purchased by itself or as part of a security suite, but I will come to that later. First Looks Hey, it’s software, what do you expect? Obviously, to use this software you need a wireless connection. The package is really designed for the initial wireless purchaser who is either just about to set up a wireless gateway or has one that was pretty much just turned on out of the box and is broadcasting in the open. That is not to say that this product can’t enhance an existing wireless network. The software package is designed to configure your router and network card to not only use a secure connection, but also to secure it more effectively. This will be done partially by using the max number of characters for an encryption key as well as rotating those keys often. This includes both WEP and WPA security protocols. Even when using the less secure WEP encryption standard, by rotating the keys, you decrease the chances of someone breaking into your network. Even if someone was to gain access to the key, they would have to re-crack your encryption after the next rotation. Unless someone really has it out for you, or is REALLY bored, they will probably not waste their time and go somewhere easier, or at least that is the premise. ...
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| -- Hexus Expert, Hexus 0 out of 0 found this reivew helpful |
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| WiFi is a wonderful thing. You can take your laptop anywhere in your house and access the Internet, or access your network from the garden. However, it does introduce the grim possibility of somebody else doing exactly the same, without you ever knowing. This guide seeks to make you aware of various security terms and ideas associated with wireless networking and what you should consider when setting up a wireless network. Usage The first thing you need to consider is what the WiFi setup will be used for. A wireless hot spot in a trendy café shouldn't be locked down like Fort Knox. Anybody should be able to find and access the wireless access point. However, any computer that connects to an open network like this should have some form of firewall enabled. Remember that other users of that access point will be able to access your computer if you leave it wide open! That aside, if you're setting up a home or office WiFi network, you don't want any Tom, Dick or Harry using the connection. There are multiple things you can do to ensure this. Password Perhaps the golden rule of wireless security is: change the password to your access point. Lists of default passwords are easy to get hold of, and that last thing you want is to hand over the configuration of your wireless network to an unscrupulous character. Make the password hard to crack. Use numbers and letters; nothing of a personal nature that somebody might figure out. SSID SSID stands for Service Set IDentifier. It's a means of identifying which network a packet of data belongs to. Your wireless access point will have a SSID, which may also be referred to as a network name. By default, your wireless access point broadcasts its SSID so that client devices can find it. However, you can disable broadcasting of the SSID and change the name of it. That way, you can only connect if you know the name. By no means should you consider this a security measure. It's still easy to locate a wireless network that doesn't broadcast its SSID, providing you have the right software. Turning off SSID broadcasting just makes your network less obvious and is less likely to give off a ?hey, come and hack me? impression. WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy is a relatively weak form of protection, but its better than nothing. WiFi uses radio waves, so theoretically anyone can snoop in on data being transmitted using WiFi. WEP encrypts the data being transmitted. To use WEP, you must generate a key. There are generators of WEP keys, or you can create one based on your own pass phrase. The generated key must be input into the client machines to allow them to communicate with the access point. To confuse matters further, there are different strengths of WEP encryption. The weakest type is 64-bit, or 40-bit after you take away the 24-bit initialisation vector (something we won't get into here.) Then there's the stronger 128-bit (or 104-bit) form of WEP. You need both client hardware and an access point that supports WEP to use it, and then you need to know what the strongest form of encryption that you can use is. Unfortunately, a hacker can 'sniff' encrypted packets and once they've sniffed enough, with the right software, crack the encryption. WEP will put off casual snoopers, but only slow down somebody who really wants into your network. WPA WiFi Protected Access is the successor to WEP and is intended to be a much stronger WiFi encryption method. There are two versions of WPA and those versions can be broken down into personal and enterprise usage also. We will focus on the personal varieties of WPA. With WPA-Personal, you define a pass phrase which must then be shared with anyone wanting to gain access to the Wi-Fi network. The longer you make the pass phrase, the better. WPA is harder to crack than WEP, so if your access point and other hardware supports it, I'd encourage you to use it. If your hardware doesn't support it, check for a firmware update that might add it as a new feature. WPA2 also exists, which is fully compliant with the 802.11i specification ? a wireless spec geared towards security. Support for it remains varied. For example, while my firmware updated access point claimed support for WPA2, I was unable to get my Centrino laptop to work with it, even with the latest drivers and patches. Another option you might see when setting up WPA is the encryption type to use. Chances are if there's an choice, it'll be between TKIP and AES. AES seems to be considered preferable and also results in less of a performance hit in network throughput. However, I have also experienced difficulty with it when using certain combinations of WiFi equipment. Final Thoughts When thinking about what security to setup for your WiFi network, consider the purpose of the network and also hardware/software compatibility. If you're setting up a home network and want it to be as secure as possible, turn off SSID broadcasting, change the network name and admin password and start by trying to get WPA configured. If that doesn't work, you can fall back to WEP, but only if you have no choice. Do remember, however, that while these methods will deter the casual snooper, if a hacker really wants access to your network, they will eventually find a way. Make sure you keep your machines' firewalls running and bear in mind that the ultimate in WiFi security is an access point that is turned off! Submit item to: del.icio.us digg slashdot technorati ...
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| -- Pcstats Expert, Pcstats 0 out of 0 found this reivew helpful |
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| Beginners Guides: Securing Your Wireless Network Securing your wireless network is as important as locking the passenger door on your car when you leave it in the parking garage. - Version 1.0.0 Bookmark this PCstats guide for future reference. Modern wireless networking products are inexpensive, simple to set up and very convenient. They are also full of holes... security holes, that is. The reason for this can be traced to the popularity of wireless. Wireless networking is now firmly entrenched in the home computer market, and that means that the people buying the products cannot be assumed to have any form of expertise in IT; hence, the products had better be extremely easy to set up, and use. Ease of use and security tend to be mutually exclusive. So for wireless manufacturers, the reasoning goes that while the average Joe or Jane Smith at home has nothing they'd really care to hide from the world, or that the world would really care to find out about them, they will get very peeved if they cannot get their new wireless router up and running quickly and without help. Unfortunately, the only way to make a complicated appliance like a wireless router idiot proof is to use default settings that will not require the user to change a single settings on any of their other wireless hardware. By extension, this means that any wireless device can connect to said router using default settings. To repeat, this means that ANY wireless device in range can connect to the Smith's new router. Now, if you are Joe Smith, do you have anything you'd like to hide? Tools that can discover wireless networks - Netstumbler - Kismet Linux-based tools/info for cracking WEP Encryption - Airsnort - WEPcrack - Wepattack Tools that can capture wireless packets - LinkFerret - Etheral - Kismet There are a couple of reasons why wireless networks are currently less secure than their wired counterparts. First off, there is the fact of their physical nature. They are wireless, broadcasting a signal out over an area. Any computer within this area with the correct equipment can be considered to be 'connected' to the network. No wires equal easier access to the network for everyone. This also makes one of the most popular 'hacking' tactics vastly easier: 'packet sniffing,' or capturing data sent over the network to analyze it for information. Anyone in range can receive all traffic sent over the wireless network. Secondly, current security methods for the most widely available wireless technology, 802.11b, are either easy to defeat or difficult to implement. The two most common methods of securing 802.11b networks are WEP (wireless encryption protocol) and MAC address filtering. WEP (64-bit, or 128-bit) protects wireless traffic by using a key to encrypt data, shared between all computers that need access. WPA (WiFi protected access) which is just now emerging, address all of WEPs shortcomings, and so we'll touch on that a little later on in the guide. Unfortunately, WEP is rather easy to crack with the correct (and freely available) software, and its wireless nature makes it easy for intruders to capture enough of your encrypted traffic to give the cracking software something to work with. ...
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| McAfee Wireless Home Network Security Suite 2006 - v.1.0 |
| $6.00 - $41.18 |
| from 2 stores |
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