Wipe out your wireless worries

Computerworld - The recent boom in wireless network communications comes as no surprise, considering how convenient they are and how easy they are to set up and use.
Moreover, the popularity of wireless networks isn't limited to small office and home office users. Larger organizations are now beginning to set up their corporate facilities with wireless access points to provide their corporate users with flexibility in accessing network resources from previously inaccessible and unwired locations. The freedom of flexibility comes at a cost, though. Wireless LANs have potential security problems you should know about. Below are tips for increasing the security of your wireless network.
Enable WEP
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is the optional encryption standard available on wireless devices. Even though WEP has some well-documented security flaws, it still provides rudimentary security on wireless LANs. Increasingly, individuals have literally taken to the streets in a process called "war driving" to detect and infiltrate unprotected WLANs in residential neighborhoods and business communities.
Using freely available tools like NetStumbler, war drivers are able to detect WLANs. Using a laptop, they can then gain access to resources located on these exposed networks. It is imperative that WEP is always enabled, yet it's been estimated that more than half of all wireless LAN networks don't have WEP engaged. Be sure your wireless device uses the highest encryption level available, such as 128-bit encryption, not lower-level 40-bit encryption.
It's also strongly advised that, if available, the automatic WEP key rotation feature is enabled. It enhances wireless security by changing encryption keys before a war driver or hacker has time to decrypt them.
Access point positioning
With a WLAN, you should avoid placing your access point in places where most of the signal goes outside. It's best to choose a location that maximizes the propagation pattern of the antenna over areas located inside the facility where users will be located and not outside or in nonuser areas. You can test if the signal escapes your home or business by simply checking to see how far you can travel and still maintain a connection.
Turn off your SSID broadcast
Service Set Identification (SSID) is an alphanumeric string that identifies a wireless network. Most wireless hardware devices ship with the SSID broadcast enabled. During the initial setup process,that makes finding WLAN access points easier. With the increasing interest in wireless network security, you may find it useful to suppress the broadcast of the SSID by access points. You then prevent unauthorized users from scanning for available networks while stillallowing users who know the correct SSID to connect. With the vast majority of hardware (e.g., Cisco, Linksys, etc.), it is possible to disable the SSID from being broadcast. By turning off the SSID, you are essentially hiding your network. If hackers don't know you're running wireless, you're less likely to be targeted.

Read more about security in Computerworld's Security Knowledge Center.