Speaking for myself, if the network is open…then how can I possibly be blamed for using it? It is not my problem that it was not setup right in the first place!
Wireless networking presents some special security challenges. In order for data communications to take place without cables, those communications travel across the airwaves using radio frequencies, much as AM/FM programming transmissions do. And just as anyone who has the proper equipment can pick up an AM or FM broadcast, anyone with the proper equipment can pick up wireless data transmissions.
Wireless networking has become tremendously popular for both business and home networks. Most use the 802.11b or 802.11g (which is backwards-compatible with b) technologies, referred to as wi-fi. Many new laptops and handheld computers come with wi-fi network cards built in, and Windows XP and Windows Mobile (Pocket PC) operating systems support wireless networking “out of the box.”
If you’re in range of a wireless network, just configure a few simple settings and you’re in business. You can connect to public wi-fi “hotspots,” your company’s wireless network, or even the wireless home network that your next door neighbor set up so he could move around the house with his laptop and still connect to the Internet. If the wireless network you connect to is connected to the Internet, you can surf the Web or send e-mail through that Internet connection.
Setting up your own wireless network is not much more difficult. Just buy an inexpensive wireless access point (WAP) from D-Link or Linksys and plug it into your cable or DSL modem or your home network’s router. You can use your wireless equipped computer to access your network from anyplace within range of the WAP’s antenna – typically about 300 feet, but you can boost the signal with a repeater or by replacing the WAP’s built in antenna with an external high-gain antenna. [Read the rest]
