User's Manual

2
Wireless Security Checklist
Business Internet Video Camera with Audio
Chapter 2
C
h
apter 2:
Wire
l
ess Security C
h
ec
kl
is
t
Wire
l
ess networ
k
s are convenient an
d
easy to insta
ll
, so
h
omes wit
h
h
ig
h
-spee
d
Internet access are a
d
opting t
h
em
at a rapi
d
pace. Because wire
l
ess networ
k
ing operates
b
y
sending in
f
ormation over radio waves, it can be more
vu
l
nera
bl
e to intru
d
ers t
h
an a tra
d
itiona
l
wire
d
networ
k
.
Like signals
f
rom your cellular or cordless phones, signals
f
rom your wireless network can also be intercepted. Since
you cannot physically prevent someone
f
rom connecting
to your wire
l
ess networ
k
, you nee
d
to ta
k
e some a
dd
itiona
l
steps to
k
eep your networ
k
secure.
1. Change the default wireless
networ
k
name or SSI
D
Wireless devices have a de
f
ault wireless network name
or Service Set Identi
f
ier (SSID) set by the
f
actory. This
is the name o
f
your wireless network, and can be up
to 32 c
h
aracters in
l
engt
h
. Lin
k
sys wire
l
ess pro
d
ucts
u
se
l
in
k
sy
s
as the de
f
ault wireless network name. You
s
h
ou
ld
c
h
ange t
h
e wire
l
ess networ
k
name to somet
h
ing
unique to distinguish your wireless network
f
rom other
wire
l
ess networ
k
s t
h
at may exist aroun
d
you,
b
ut
d
o not
use personal in
f
ormation (such as your Social Security
number) because this in
f
ormation may be available
f
or
anyone to see when browsing
f
or wireless networks.
2.
Change the de
f
ault passwor
d
For wire
l
ess pro
d
ucts suc
h
as access points an
d
routers,
you will be asked
f
or a password when you want to change
their settings. These devices have a de
f
ault password set
by the
f
actory. The Linksys de
f
ault password is a
d
mi
n
.
Hackers know these de
f
aults and may try to use them
to access your wire
l
ess
d
evice an
d
c
h
ange your networ
k
settings. To t
h
wart any unaut
h
orize
d
c
h
anges, customize
t
h
e
d
evice’s passwor
d
so it wi
ll
b
e
h
ar
d
to guess
.
3. Enable MAC address filtering
Lin
k
sys routers give you t
h
e a
b
i
l
ity to ena
bl
e Me
d
ia Access
Control (MAC) address
f
iltering. The MAC address is a
unique series o
f
numbers and letters assigned to every
networking device. With MAC address
f
iltering enabled,
wireless network access is provided solely
f
or wireless
devices with speci
f
ic MAC addresses. For example, you can
speci
f
y the MAC address o
f
each computer in your home
so t
h
at on
l
y t
h
ose computers can access your wire
l
ess
networ
k
.
4. Enable encryption
Encryption protects
d
ata transmitte
d
over a wire
l
ess
networ
k
. Wi-Fi Protecte
d
Access (WPA/WPA2) an
d
Wire
d
Equivalency Privacy (WEP) o
ff
er di
ff
erent levels o
f
security
f
or wireless communication. Currently, devices that are
Wi-Fi certi
f
ied are required to support WPA2, but are not
require
d
to support WEP
.
A networ
k
encrypte
d
wit
h
WPA/WPA2 is more secure
t
h
an a networ
k
encrypte
d
wit
h
WEP,
b
ecause WPA/WPA2
uses dynamic key encryption. To protect the in
f
ormation
as it passes over t
h
e airwaves, you s
h
ou
ld
ena
bl
e t
h
e
highest level o
f
encryption supported by your networ
k
equ
i
pment.
WEP is an o
ld
er encryption stan
d
ar
d
an
d
may
b
e t
h
e
on
l
y option avai
l
a
bl
e on some o
ld
er
d
evices t
h
at
d
o not
support W
P
A
.
Genera
l
Networ
k
Security Gui
d
e
l
ine
s
Wireless network security is useless i
f
the underlying
networ
k
is not secure.
Passwor
d
protect a
ll
computers on t
h
e networ
k
an
d
individually password protect sensitive
f
iles
.
C
h
ange passwor
d
s on a regu
l
ar
b
asis.
Install anti-virus so
f
tware and personal
f
irewall
so
f
tware
.
Disable
f
ile sharing (peer-to-peer). Some applications
may open
f
ile sharing without your consent and/or
k
now
l
e
d
ge
.
A
dd
itiona
l
Security Tip
s
Keep wire
l
ess routers, access points, or gateways away
f
rom exterior walls and windows.
Turn wire
l
ess routers, access points, or gateways
o
ff
when they are not being used (at night, during
vacations
).
Use strong passp
h
rases t
h
at are at
l
east eig
h
t c
h
aracters
in
l
engt
h
. Com
b
ine
l
etters an
d
num
b
ers to avoi
d
using
standard words that can be
f
ound in the dictionary.
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