ABSTRACT
The Wireless networks are popping up everywhere — corporate office, home, and even local coffee shop. Wireless local area networks (LAN) also can provide a cost benefit. Installing and configuring wired communications can be costly, especially in those hard–to–reach areas. Ladders, drop ceilings, heavy furniture, kneepads, and a lot of time are often necessary to get all components installed and connected properly. The increased mobility and cost–effectiveness make wireless LANs a popular alternative. The default configurations, network architecture, encryption weaknesses, and physical security are areas that cause problems for wireless LAN installations. The default installations of most wireless networks allow any wireless network interface card to access the network without any form of authentication. The setting on the access point that can be used to restrict access is the network name, also known as the Service Set ID. The wireless client requests authorization from the access point, which forwards the request to a Remote Authentication Dialin User Server.
