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DIY Networks - Wireless Networks
DIY Wireless Network
Wireless networks provide additional avantages such as markedly reduced cabling over wired or ethernet networks but they can have their disadvantages as well. Aside from the more obvious difference that wireless networks run at slower speeds than wired networks there are also security concerns to consider. Your wireless router or access point will transmit data to the limit of its range and this often is much further than your front door. High powered access points can be seen as far away as 750 metres or even further and ensuring the security of your network by using the highest level of encryption available is definetely recommended.The number of unsecured wireless networks that can be found in any suburb is staggering. To prove a point with a colleague recently we took a drive around my hometown with a laptop. We had travelled perhaps five streets over from my home and found nine wireless networks. Of these nine networks four of them were unsecured and with three of them we were surfing the internet within seconds of joining the wireless network. Unsecured wireless networks are a magnet for freeloaders and the less savoury elements on the internet and open networks leave their owners liable for any inappropriate traffic that occur. Dont be a victim, secure your network!
Configuring your Wireless Network
When you configure your wireless access point or router there are a few configuration options that may need to be changed for the device to work properly. Some are very basic such as the IP address and subnet mask that the device will use or whether or not its DHCP server should be enabled and what IP addresses, nameservers etc it should issue to client computers. Configuring the wireless interface on the device usually only requires a few details as pictured to the right.
Some devices will ask what mode to operate in, such as AP for access point, bridge mode or client. If your objective is to connect computers etc to it as clients then it should be in AP mode. The wireless network mode option allows you to decide if you wish to use 802.11G or B. 802.11B is an older standard that runs at 11mbs as opposed to 802.11G's 54mbs. Selecting mixed will allow the access point and its clients to decide which to use. The SSID is a network name that the access point will broadcast like a beacon so that wireless clients can see it when they perform a scan (view available wireless networks in windows). Clients must use this SSID to connect to your network. If the client has a different SSID in its settings it will not work. The wireless channel allows you to select which exact channel you wish your wireless network to use. Depending on the country you are in you may have up to 13 channels that you can legally use. Select a channel that has the least amount of other nearby networks using it. Most devices default to channel six. The next option allows you to turn off broadcasting your networks SSID at the access point. This can be a usefull security feature. If your SSID is not broadcasted it makes your network much harder to find. It is best to turn this off after configuring all your wireless clients.
Securing your Wireless Network
Securing your wireless network is actually really easy and involves setting both your access point and your client computers so that they use the same encryption type, passphrases where applicable and encryption keys. If all of these details are configured into your computers, devices and access points (or routers) exactly the same then your wireless network will be secure and functional. If some or all of the details dont match then things simply wont be able to talk to each other, that is the idea after all. When you decide what your passphrase will be or your WEP key write them down so that you can configure everything in the same fashion.When you first purchase your wireless router or access point it will be configured as an open network and if the device has a DHCP server it most likely is enabled. This initial configuration is the reason why there are so many unsecured wireless networks and the manufacturers cannot be responsible for this, after all the access point must be available when the unit is first switched on so that it can be correctly configured. Because the default configuration allows the unit to be used straight out of the box many unwary purchasers simply plug them in, switch them on and start using them. If there are no IP address conflicts or anything of that nature then of course it will work. For everybody.
There are two commonly used types of encryption used to secure a home or small office wireless network. These are WEP (short for Wired Equivalence Protection) or WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). Out of these two choices WPA is the better choice as there are tools available now that can break WEP encryption in around twenty minutes. Use WEP only if your device or computer is older and does not support WPA. WEP will still keep casual passersby from using your network.
WEP is an older form of encryption and several tools have surfaced recently that have made it possible to break WEP encryption in a remarkably short period of time. To use WEP the access points and all clients connecting to it must use the same encryption key, a hexadecimal number (charactors 0-9 and A-F) either 10 charactors long for 64 bit WEP or 26 charactors long for 128 bit WEP. WEP may be your only option if your access point or device is a little on the older side, however it is still a far better option than having an open network and will keep passers by and amataeur hackers out of your network.
WPA and its successor WPA2 are more modern methods of encrypting a wireless network. There are many ways that WPA can be configured but for the home or office the most suitable method is to use a Pre-Shared Key (PSK). A preshared key is simply a password between 8 and 63 charactors long that is typed into the computer or devices configuration and supplied on connecting to the network. There are two types of encryption that may be used with WPA-PSK, AES and TKIP. TKIP is mainly used with WPA and AES with WPA2. Configuring your access point to do both will accommodate older devices more readily. WPA with a preshared key is the preferred method of encryption and is considered to be far more secure than WEP.