Netgear WPN824v2 WPN824v1 Reference Manual - Page 39

Reference Manual for the RangeMax Wireless Router WPN824 WPN824 Wireless Data Security Options Range: up to 300 foot radius 1) Open system: easy but no security 2) MAC access list: no data security 3) WEP: security but some performance impact 4) WPA-PSK: very strong security Figure 4-2: WPN824 wireless data security options There are several ways you can enhance the security of your wireless network. • Restrict Access Based on MAC address. You can restrict access to only trusted computers so that unknown computers cannot wirelessly connect to the WPN824. MAC address filtering adds an obstacle against unwanted access to your network, but the data broadcast over the wireless link is fully exposed. • 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. • WEP. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption provides data security. WEP Shared Key authentication and WEP data encryption will block all but the most determined eavesdropper. • WPA-PSK. Wi-Fi Protected Access, Pre-Shared Key (WPA-PSK) data encryption provides strong data security. WPA-PSK will block eavesdropping. Because this is a new standard, wireless device driver and software availability may be limited. • Turn Off the Wired LAN. If you disable the wireless LAN, wireless devices cannot communicate with the router at all. You might choose to turn off the wireless the LAN when you are away and the others in the household all use wired connections. Wireless Configuration 4-3 202-10072-01, March 2005