Wireless network has become very popular in the home and office networks. Wireless network security is required to protect your wireless network from the unauthorized access, viruses, hackers and other internal and external threats. An unsecured wireless network is an open invitation to the hackers, intruders and the viruses. Many worldwide businesses and the home users are rapidly adopting the wireless networking for the key advantages that it has like the mobility, ease of work, easy management, scalability and the lost cost.

If you plan to implement the WLAN or wi-fi then its important for you to understand the security challenges that are associated with it to protect it from the security threats. The most common security threats include the following.

• Viruses
• Hackers
• Spyware
• Intruders
• Unauthorized Users
• Denial of Service
• Network Injection
• Trojans

Solutions

The possible steps that can be taken to protect the network are the following.

• All wireless network devices including routers, access point the PCMCIA LAN cards need to be secured.
• The wireless network needs to be monitored for detecting and preventing it from the security threats and for monitoring the users’ activities.
• All the users should be educated about the security threats.

Security Solutions

A wireless computer network can be protected from the internal and external security threats by implementing the following techniques.

• Change the default password of the router.
• Disable SSID broadcast.
• Map the IP addresses with the MAC addresses
• Enable WEP, WPA and WPA2 security mechanisms.
• Enable 128-bit WEP encryption.
• Use strong passwords.
• Disable Remote Administration.
• Do not auto connect to the open Wi-Fi networks.
• Assign static IP address to the devices.
• Enable firewall and the antivirus software on each computer.
• Place the router and access point in the center of the network.
• Turn off the network when you are not using it.
• Limit access rights.
• Upgrade to wi-fi protected networks.