04-05-2012, 03:52 PM
WLAN Security Issues
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INTRODUCTION
It wasn’t too long back when computer is
considered as luxurious device than rather than necessity. It
was owned by some resourceful person or it was reserved
by some large corporate. But, with the development of
Internet and World Wide Web it exploded into a culture
where we are interested to find the latest things in our life
on the internet like news, shopping, mailing and million of
other things.. Now people should not struggle for time on a
computer at a home but for a time on to surfing for the
internet. It requires some media to transfer data or
information to other devices. Media can be in Wired or
Wireless mode. In case of wired mode cable like CAT5,
Coaxial, Twisted Pair or UTP can be used. But in the case
of Wireless mode radio waves are used as in the case of
cordless phone conversation. Wireless networking reduces
the messy networking as in the case of wired networking.
WIRED VS WIRELESS
About Wired LANs
Wired LANs use Ethernet cables and network
adapters. Although two computers can be directly wired to
each other using a crossover cable, wired LANs generally
also need central devices like hubs, switches, or routers to
accommodate more computers. For dial-up connections to
the internet, the computer hosting the modem must run
internet connection sharing or similar software to share the
connection with all other computers on the LAN.
Broadband routers allow easier sharing of cable modem or
DSL Internet connections, plus they often include built-in
firewall support.
Wireless LANs
Popular WLAN technologies all follow one of the
three main Wi-Fi communication standards. The benefits of
wireless networking depend on the standard employed:
1. In industry the first standard to be widely used in
WLANs was 802.11b.
2. The 802.11b standard is slower and much cheaper
than 802.11a but still professionals commonly
used 802.11a in business networks.
3. The newest standard, 802.11g is developed from
the combination of both 802. 11a and 802.11b,
though it too is more expensive networking
option.
Which is better - wired or wireless?
Table1 [1] below summarizes the main criteria
which was considered in this paper. For very costconscious
users who need maximum performance of their
home system, and don't care much about mobility, then a
wired Ethernet LAN is probably right for him.
If on the other hand, cost is not an issue and user
would like to adopt a leading-edge technology, and they are
really concerned about the task of wiring small business
with Ethernet cable, then it is recommended to go for a
wireless LAN.