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point on which the SSID broadcast has been disabled, it
will typically display "Cloaked" instead of an SSID.
Signal Strength
The scanner displays an image of one to four vertical bars,
indicating the relative strength of the signals detected by
the scanner. By scanning repeatedly, you may be able to
determine whether you are moving closer to or farther from
a network access point by watching the increase or
decrease in the relative signal strength.
Encryption
Any WiFi certified access point is capable of encrypting
WiFi signals using the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
standard or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA™). WEP-
encrypted network requires that a user input an encryption
key before the network can be accessed. The scanner
displays "Secure" when a given network is encrypted, and
"Open" when the network is not encrypted.
Network operators use WEP to prohibit roaming WiFi users
from accessing a network. A network operator who has
enabled WEP is sending a clear signal to a roaming user
that the network is not intended to be accessed by
outsiders.
You can use the scanner to verify that your home or office
network is properly secured, or to detect "rogue" access
points. IT managers may wish to scan their office premises
to detect unexpected access points, and to find any access
points that are unintentionally unencrypted.
Channel
The scanner scans 13 channels. While only 11 channels
are used in the U.S., 13 channels are used for WiFi in
Europe.
Because WiFi channels overlap on adjacent channels,
channel information can be useful in detecting potential
reasons for interference.