Wireless Security

The Necessity of Good Wireless Security

One of the most researched and talked about topics in the IT industry is wireless security. With the increased use of wireless networking and mobile computing the need for secure connections is becoming more and more pressing. Since wireless networks are more vulnerable to worms and attacks than a wired network, which has a dedicated hub to act as a firewall, they need some form of security that will ensure that the information they contain is protected.

Wireless security is most crucial for those who earn their livelihood on the World Wide Web. E-merchants and etailers and anyone else who has to exchange personal information over the internet have to get some serious security for their wireless connections. Encryption is one way to achieve this. Encryption codes all information that is being exchanged so that none but the intended recipient can read it. Another way of preventing attacks is by having an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) where you can see when an unauthenticated user is trying to gain access into your system or into your files. The security features most people know about are firewalls. Firewalls are barriers between the outside and the inside of your computer - they act as a filter that only allows authenticated users access to your network connection.

Since networks are so vulnerable it is also wise to audit your wireless system every once in a while. In order to make sure that your WLAN is secure you should check the number of attempts that have been made to access your computer to make sure that none of them were successful and that you do not have any bugs or spies in your system.

Wireless networks are great, but with them comes the increased need for security. Without adequate security your computer is vulnerable to all manner of virtual attacks including viruses and worms that can wipe out your hardrive or erase all of the files in your document folder.

Wireless computing is heading our way. In the past the weakness of this kind of networking were made abundantly obvious but with advanced security features and with greater knowledge of how to protect our networks and our computers we can mitigate the damage done by virtual attacks. Soon, wireless networking will be the only way we can ever imagine computing!