Wireless Home Networking - Index of

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Part III: Installing a Wireless Network
WPA2 is also known as 802.11i. 802.11i is simply the IEEE (the folks who make
the standards for wireless LANs) standard for advanced Wi-Fi security. WPA
was a step toward 802.11i set by the Wi-Fi Alliance. WPA2 incorporates all the
security measures included in 802.11i.
What’s better about WPA?
� More random encryption techniques: WPA has basically been designed
as an answer for all the current weaknesses of WEP, with significantly
increased encryption techniques. One of WEP’s fatal flaws is that because
its encryption isn’t sufficiently random, an observer can more easily find
patterns and break the encryption. WPA’s encryption techniques are
more random — and thus harder to break.
� Automatic key changes: WPA also has a huge security advantage in the
fact that it automatically changes the key (although you, as a user, get to
keep using the same password to access the system). So, by the time a
bad guy has figured out your key, your system has already moved on to
a new one.
It’s possible to use an 802.1x system, as described in the sidebar “802.1x:
The corporate solution,” later in this chapter, to provide automatic
key changes for WEP systems. This is not something you would find in
anyone’s home network, but some businesses use it, and it does indeed
minimize the effect of WEP’s fixed keys.
� More user friendly: WPA is easier for consumers to use because there’s
no hexadecimal stuff to deal with — just a plain text password. The idea
is to make WPA much easier to deal with than WEP, which takes a bit of
effort to get up and running (depending on how good your access point’s
configuration software is).
The type of WPA (and WPA2) we’re talking about here is often called WPA
Personal or WPA PSK (preshared key). The more complex (and not suitable
for the home) version of WPA/WPA2 that is often used by businesses is WPA
Enterprise. We talk about WPA Enterprise in the sidebar titled “802.1x: The
corporate solution.”
Clamping Down on Your Wireless
Home Network’s Security
Well, that’s enough of the theory and background, if you’ve read from the
beginning of this chapter. It’s time to get down to business. In this section,
we discuss some of the key steps you should take to secure your wireless
network from intruders. None of these steps is difficult, will drive you crazy,