Wireless Technology – What You Need to Know.

Or

Why Computer People Hear the Word "Wireless" and Start writing up check request forms.

Wireless networking has become one of the fastest growing methods for working on line, and with good reason: there are no contentious modems, no slow connections, and no wires to drag around. Wireless access points are sprouting up all over: in homes, in businesses, even in bars, bookstores and coffee shops. Computer hardware manufacturers are building wireless capability* into the units they ship. This sudden popularity of wireless has lead to many popular misconceptions about wireless networking. Many people think of wireless networking as though it was like “a cell phone for the laptop”. All you need is a wireless-capable laptop and you can access the web, email, and files, from anywhere, in complete privacy.

Not even close. Why? It has to do with the way wireless networking does its job.

Wireless networking is more like two-way radio for the laptop, much like Citizen's Band (CB). First off, you have to be within range of a transmitter (about seventy-five feet) that will listen to your laptop and respond . These transmitters are called “wireless access points” or W.A.P.s (pronounced "waps") Finding a public W.A.P. is not that hard. There are many that are publicly available. Businesses often advertise that they have wireless capability for a small fee or even free-of-charge. The point is, they aren't available everywhere. You have to find one that's publicly open, and have your laptop close enough to it to receive and send.

Secondly, the message traffic between you and a public W.A.P. is completely public. Anyone in range, with the right equipment, can listen in on what you are doing; every web link you click on, every email and attachment you send.

There is an additional twist. Anyone who is listening can probably gain read and write access to your laptop's hard drive.

Many people believe that even if their laptop is open to intrusion, there is on need for concern because they don't keep anything embarrassing or sensitive on it.

The reality is that while they don't, the laptop probably does. Like what? Like every web site you've ever visited, even if you've cleared the Internet cache. Like every email attachment you've opened, even if you've deleted the email itself. Like your address book. Like the file you thought you had deleted. There are stories of "harvested" address books being sold to spammers, of executive salary spreadsheets posted on the Internet, of company classified communications being leaked to the press or to the competition.

There's another problem. The intruder may not be after your data. Sexual predators sometimes use the unsecured hard drives of innocent people to store and transfer the evidence of their illegal activities. Anyone engaged in criminal or terrorist activity can use the same techniques to put distance between them and the incriminating data.

What can be done to protect wireless users? On the corporate level, some companies have invested in VPN ("Virtual Private Networking") technology. This creates an encrypted virtual "conduit" from your laptop to a specially configured secure server. Some companies have simply sworn off of the use of wireless completely**.

If you have a W.A.P. at home, you need to secure it against outside intruders, or to ensure that it is secured. Use your favorite search engine to search on the keywords "Wireless Security." You will find articles on how to secure your home wireless. This will not make your home W.A.P. impenetrable, but an intruder will probably give up on you and look for easier pickings elsewhere.

If you are using a wireless-capable laptop, turn off the wireless network adaptor when not actively using it. It can usually be found as an icon in the lower right of the desktop next to the time. Right click it and select "disable." This is a simple step that will keep intruders from gaining access to your computer's data or free space. If you need a high speed web access connection for your laptop, a hard-wired plugin connection is always preferred.

If you are using wireless, you should install firewall software. This will go far toward preventing people accessing your laptop without your knowing about it. There are many free firewalls available. Again web search for "Firewall Freeware". Install one and follow the steps to configure it. Note that once the security is in place, the firewall may prohibit some types of networking that you actually want to use. Thus firewalls need some "tweaking" occasionally. It's important for you to know how to change the firewall's configuration to accomodate your work.

The discussion above is not intended to frighten you away from using a wireless access connection or using a wireless-capable computer. It is simply important for you to understand the capabilities, limitations, and security risks involved in wireless networking. The more you know, the less likely you are become a victim.

*When talking about “wireless networking”, we actually mean a very specific type of wireless networking – 802.11b -pronounced “eight-oh-two-eleven-bee” the Ethernet protocol is used in wireless networking. Many devices are wireless. Not all have 802.11b support.

**ASQ has traditionally been one of these.