WG602v4 Manual: Wireless Security Options

Unlike wired network data, your wireless data transmissions can be received well beyond your walls by anyone with a compatible adapter. For this reason, use the security features of your wireless equipment. The Wireless AP provides highly effective security features which are covered in detail in this chapter. Deploy the security features appropriate to your needs.

Restrict Access Based on MAC Address. You can restrict access to only trusted PCs so that unknown PCs cannot wirelessly connect to the WG602v4. MAC address filtering adds an obstacle against unwanted access to your network, but the data broadcast over the wireless link is fully exposed (see Restricting Wireless Access by MAC Address).

Turn Off the Broadcast of the Wireless Network Name (SSID). If you disable broadcast of the SSID, only devices that have the correct SSID can connect. This nullifies the wireless network "discovery" feature of some products such as Windows XP, but the data is still fully exposed to a determined snoop using specialized test equipment like wireless sniffers.

Use WEP. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption provides data security. WEP Shared Key authentication and WEP data encryption will block an eavesdropper but because the keys are static, a determined snoop can learn the keys in less than a day of eavesdropping (see Configuring WEP Wireless Security).

Use WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2) data encryption provides data security. WPA-PSK will block eavesdropping. Because this is a new standard, wireless device driver and software availability may be limited. However, WPA/WPA2 is not available in bridge mode (see Configuring WPA-PSK Wireless Security, Configuring WPA2-PSK Wireless Security or Configuring WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK Wireless Security).