OBTAIN AN IP ADDRESS BY USING DHCPBEFORE YOU BEGIN THIS EXERCISE, YOU...

15-35Lesson 3 Configuring Wireless Connections

Typically, the convenience of using SSID broadcasting outweighs the slight security

advantage that disabling broadcasting offers.

Note Several tools exist that can help users locate wireless networks, even if SSID broad-casting is turned off. As an administrator, you can use these tools to help evaluate the secu-rity of your own wireless network and identify rogue wireless networks in your organization. Two popular tools include NetStumbler, which you can find at https://traloihay.net, and AirSnare, which you can find at https://traloihay.net.

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)

Wired networks normally require a physical connection in order to be compromised.

In wireless networks, because the data is broadcast using radio, intruders can intercept

the signals. If those signals are not encrypted, intruders can view the data being trans-

mitted. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is one of two wireless encryption standards

supported by Windows XP Professional (the other being Wi-Fi Protected Access, which

is covered in the next section). WEP is the encryption standard that is specified by the

IEEE 802.11 standard.

WEP provides encryption services to protect authorized users of a wireless LAN from

eavesdroppers. WEP functions by using a shared key to encrypt packets of data before

transmitting them over a wireless network. This shared key is generated by using