Instruction Sheet

• Building materials, such as steel and drywall, can shorten the range of the radio signals.

• Physical layout of the area can interfere with the signals and cause them to be dropped.

• Electronic noise from cell phones, microwave ovens, or other devices on the same

frequency can interfere with the transmission of the signals.

• Range is inversely proportional to data rate, so the faster that the signals are sent, the

less distance they will travel.

Taking these factors into consideration when you survey the site for your WLAN is key to

providing all of your users with undisturbed mobile connectivity. Using multiple access points will,

of course, reduce the impact of these factors if your area has dividing walls throughout.

Stronger Security

Although wireless networks are easy to use, the main issue lies with security. Even if you enable

the security settings defined in the 802.11b standard, as well as the security settings of your

hardware, your network is still vulnerable. There are a few things you can do to make it more

difficult for outsiders to access your network:

• Change the default network name of your WLAN. Every manufacturer's default settings

are public knowledge.

• Do not allow the name of your network to be broadcasted by your access points. This

makes it more difficult for hackers to identify your network.

• Enable Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption, which is the same security feature

used by online shopping websites.

• Change your encryption keys as often as possible. Temporal Key Integrity Protocol

(TKIP), which is being developed by a IEEE task group, will change the keys

automatically.

• Enable MAC address filtering so that each access point can generate a list of approved

MAC addresses for your WLAN.

• If you have a small network, use virtual private network encryption for additional security.

If you have a large network, you may want to install a gateway between your access

points and network clients.

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Software Installation

Installing Drivers and PROSet Software

See the instructions for your operating system:

• Windows XP

• Windows 2000

• Windows Me

• Windows 98SE