User's Manual
28 Microsoft Broadband Networking Wireless Adapter User’s Guide
Help Protect Your Network from Unauthorized Access
Because wireless networks use radio signals, it is possible for other wireless
network devices outside your immediate area to pick up the signals and
either connect to your network or capture the network trafc. To help prevent
unauthorized connections or the possibility of eavesdroppers listening in on your
network trafc, do the following:
O
If you have a base station, router, or gateway, place it toward the center of your
home. This decreases the strength of the signal outside your home.
O
Enable Wi-Fi Protected Access™(WPA) or 128-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy
(WEP) on your network. When you enable wireless security, you establish a
WPA passphrase or a WEP key, which scrambles or “encrypts” the wireless
data being transmitted so that it is decipherable only by computers that have
the correct passphrase or key. In addition, only users who know the security
settings can join your network and use your Internet connection.
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