WLAN Connections

Wireless LAN's are very common now, and are based on a technology that is often referred to as Wi-Fi (short for wireless fidelity)

. The distance covered by a wireless local area network (WLAN) is usually measured in feet (or meters) rather than miles. Therefore, this is not a technology that connects directly to an ISP but can be used to connect to another LAN or device through which internet access is achieved.

On a WLAN, a wireless access point acts as a wireless hub or switch. The most common implementations of WLANs involve using a wireless access point to link wireless computers to a wired LAN so they can use resources on the LAN and /or connect through a router to the internet.

To connect to the internet, the wireless access point is countered to a wired LAN like any other devices, and then computers with wireless NICs can access the LAN. The wireless access point may be purchased in combination with other features such as firewalls, routers and switches. A wireless access point may be attached to a port on a standard hub or switch being used by the LAN.

To connect to the wireless access point, the PC or laptop will need a wireless NIC. This device can be a PCI card NIC, an external USB NIC, or a type II card that goes into the slot on the side of the laptop.

More security on WLAN's is necessary because of growing practice, called war driving, in which people travel around a city carrying a specialized device, or simple notebook computer equipped with a wireless NIC, searching for unprotected WLAN's. These are often referred to as hot spots. The intent is to publicize these locations by marking buildings with symbols that tell others in-the-know that the marked building is a hot spot. This advertising of an unexposed WLAN gives access to a private network, which opens up the possibility of all types of threats.

If you plan to connect through wireless LAN connection, you should enable encryption on the wireless access point and on all computers you wish to have connect. You will first need to ensure that the access point, your wireless NICs on each computer, and your operating system all support the same level or encryption, and that you understand how to configure it properly on all devices. Most WLAN devices and operating systems support an encryption standard called wire equivalent privacy (WEP). This encryption method has proven easy to defeat by war drivers and others. As a consequence another standard wi-fi protected access (WPA) was created. It works with existing hardware and software that have been upgraded and new devices that are WEP enables out of the box.

WLAN Connections

By: Talha Bin Shakeel

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