The Chronicler's Web (TCW)

by DAN CALLOWAY, Editor-in-chief, TCW
Published on 1 October 2011

WEAVERVILLE, NC – With all the confusing terminology associated with wireless networking–and especially home networking–it’s difficult for the everyday layman to implement any form of security on their home wireless LAN (WLAN) let alone determine whether they really need it. This article will help you to understand the terminology a little better and will answer the age-old question whether your WLAN needs to be made secure or not.

The answer to that question is a resounding YES! Most definitely, home networking systems, which include a Broadband modem, host computers and wireless laptops, iPods, TiVo’s, and other devices need to be made secure over the wireless/wired router that you are using to establish your wireless Local Area Network (LAN). The device that needs the greatest security is the router that establishes the wireless LAN that connects all your host computers and devices behind your ISP.

Today’s routers come in many different models and manufactures, but they can be categorized into three basic groups for the purposes of networking standards. These are 802.11a, 802.11b/g, and 802.11n. The latter version is replacing its predecessors because of its improved security features, enhanced performance, and ability to handle much faster networking speeds (802.11n is capable of speeds in excess of 100Mbps). If you are investing in a router for your home whether it is a Cisco router or another manufacturer, go with the 802.11n standard if your devices will support it. Be careful, however, as some older laptops and even some of the newer netbook devices have Network Interface Cards (NICs) that don’t support 802.11n.

When deciding to setup your home network, keep in mind the following networking terminology that you will encounter:

•     WLAN – Wireless Local Area Network (Your network that supports all your wireless devices so that they connect wirelessly to your router and, ultimately, to the outside world).
•     Broadband Modem – This is the device that brings your ISP’s service into your home (this could be a phone line, a cable connection, or satellite).
•     Router – The device that is connected to your Broadband modem and that routes your incoming Ethernet traffic over the WLAN to your host computers and other devices regardless as to whether they are wired connected or wireless. Usually, the router also serves as the means for making your subscriber connection to your ISP service and also acts as the server that issues IP addresses to your host computers and other devices so that they can talk to one another and to the outside world.
•     IP Address – This is the 32-bit Internet address of your host device that is often referred to as a dotted quad. This address uniquely identifies your host computer on the LAN and/or WLAN for your home network. An example of an IP address would be 50.51.120.149.
•     DHCP – Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. This is the protocol that your DHCP Server (usually your network’s router) uses to issue IP addresses (dynamically) to your host devices so that static IP addresses don’t have to be assigned manually (or statically) by a network administrator. When a new device is introduced to your network, the DHCP Server will automatically detect the device and issue a unique IP Address to it within the range of IP addresses that are specified.
•     Network Security – the encryption methodology and protocol used to secure a home network so that traffic that traverses the network and that passes to and from your WLAN or LAN to the outside world is not human readable if intercepted. This security is setup on the router.
•     Wireless Broadcast Name – This is the name that you give your home Wireless network and, which is also referred to as the SSID (Service Set Identifier). This name is broadcast within and without your WLAN so that others may connect to it if you want them to.
•     Ethernet – The term associated with a family of networking technologies that were developed for LANs and WLANs beginning in the early 1980s. The cables that connect your wired networking devices to the router are referred to as Ethernet cables.
•     Protocol – Also referred to as the Communications Protocol, is a system of rules and digital message formats that allow for the exchange of data between and among host computers, routers, servers, and other devices on the typical network as well as other telecommunications systems.

After you have established your home wireless network, it is important to implement a strong form of security on that network. Why is this essential? In today’s world, there are individuals and governments that want to obtain your private information and, especially your financial information. In addition, if a hacker can breach your network, they can then use one or more of your host devices as a relay to attack other networks. Thus, it is absolutely necessary that security be established on the router, which creates the means for your home wireless network to function. How is security identified and what do the basic terms mean?

Security on a home wireless network can be established in several different ways using several methodologies and protocols. The basic forms of network security methodologies today are: (1) NO Security, (2) WEP – Wireless Equivalency Protocol (the weakest form of security and has since been deprecated), (3) WPA – Wi-Fi Protected Access, (4) WPA2 – Wi-Fi Protected Access II, (5) EAP – Extensible Authentication Protocol, and (6) LEAP – Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol. By far, the most secure means of tightening down your home wireless network would be to use WPA2 and AES + TKIP encryption. AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard, which is a 256-bit encryption standard used by the military. TKIP refers to the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol, which is a very strong encryption protocol used in wireless networking.

The WPA2 combined with AES or TKIP, or both would make for the strongest security possible on a home wireless network. Just keep in mind that some devices may not support the use of AES and TKIP when used with WPA2 and you may have to decide between AES and TKIP when creating a secure network. If this is the case, then I highly recommend using AES over TKIP because of its hightened encryption capabilities.