Chapter 8 Wireless LAN
AMG1302-T10A User’s Guide
115
These security standards do two things. First, they authenticate. This means that only people
presenting the right credentials (often a username and password, or a “key” phrase) can access the
network. Second, they encrypt. This means that the information sent over the air is encoded. Only
people with the code key can understand the information, and only people who have been
authenticated are given the code key.
These security standards vary in effectiveness. Some can be broken, such as the old Wired
Equivalent Protocol (WEP). Using WEP is better than using no security at all, but it will not keep a
determined attacker out. Other security standards are secure in themselves but can be broken if a
user does not use them properly. For example, the WPA-PSK security standard is very secure if you
use a long key which is difficult for an attacker’s software to guess - for example, a twenty-letter
long string of apparently random numbers and letters - but it is not very secure if you use a short
key which is very easy to guess - for example, a three-letter word from the dictionary.
Because of the damage that can be done by a malicious attacker, it’s not just people who have
sensitive information on their network who should use security. Everybody who uses any wireless
network should ensure that effective security is in place.
A good way to come up with effective security keys, passwords and so on is to use obscure
information that you personally will easily remember, and to enter it in a way that appears random
and does not include real words. For example, if your mother owns a 1970 Dodge Challenger and
her favorite movie is Vanishing Point (which you know was made in 1971) you could use
“70dodchal71vanpoi” as your security key.
The following sections introduce different types of wireless security you can set up in the wireless
network.
8.8.3.1 SSID
Normally, the Device acts like a beacon and regularly broadcasts the SSID in the area. You can hide
the SSID instead, in which case the Device does not broadcast the SSID. In addition, you should
change the default SSID to something that is difficult to guess.
This type of security is fairly weak, however, because there are ways for unauthorized wireless
devices to get the SSID. In addition, unauthorized wireless devices can still see the information that
is sent in the wireless network.
8.8.3.2 MAC Address Filter
Every device that can use a wireless network has a unique identification number, called a MAC
address.
1
A MAC address is usually written using twelve hexadecimal characters
2
; for example,
00A0C5000002 or 00:A0:C5:00:00:02. To get the MAC address for each device in the wireless
network, see the device’s User’s Guide or other documentation.
You can use the MAC address filter to tell the Device which devices are allowed or not allowed to
use the wireless network. If a device is allowed to use the wireless network, it still has to have the
correct information (SSID, channel, and security). If a device is not allowed to use the wireless
network, it does not matter if it has the correct information.
1.
Some wireless devices, such as scanners, cannot detect wireless networks but can use wireless networks. These kinds
of wireless devices might not have MAC addresses.
2.
Hexadecimal characters are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, and F.
Summary of Contents for AMG1302-T10A
Page 4: ...Contents Overview AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 4 ...
Page 12: ...Table of Contents AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 12 ...
Page 13: ...13 PART I User s Guide ...
Page 14: ...14 ...
Page 20: ...Chapter 1 Introduction AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 20 ...
Page 52: ...Chapter 4 Tutorials AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 52 ...
Page 53: ...53 PART II Technical Reference ...
Page 54: ...54 ...
Page 126: ...Chapter 8 Wireless LAN AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 126 ...
Page 140: ...Chapter 9 Network Address Translation NAT AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 140 ...
Page 158: ...Chapter 11 Filters AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 158 ...
Page 162: ...Chapter 12 Static Route AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 162 ...
Page 166: ...Chapter 13 Port Binding AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 166 ...
Page 176: ...Chapter 15 Quality of Service QoS AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 176 ...
Page 198: ...Chapter 18 Universal Plug and Play UPnP AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 198 ...
Page 202: ...Chapter 19 CWMP AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 202 ...
Page 206: ...Chapter 20 System Settings AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 206 ...
Page 216: ...Chapter 21 Logs AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 216 ...
Page 266: ...Appendix C Pop up Windows JavaScripts and Java Permissions AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 266 ...
Page 280: ...Appendix D Wireless LANs AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 280 ...
Page 290: ...Appendix E IPv6 AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 290 ...
Page 322: ...Appendix G Legal InformationSafety Warnings AMG1302 T10A User s Guide 322 ...