| Wireless networking has become very popular in | | | | access point will have radio shadows in various places |
| recent years because it eliminates the need to run | | | | depending on the construction of the house and where |
| cables for each machine connected to the LAN. | | | | the router is placed. Some manufacturers sell wireless |
| Wireless Ethernet comes in an array of confusing | | | | repeaters that are somewhat cheaper than a |
| standards and terms. However, most of the early | | | | full-blown repeater or access point that can solve this |
| teething problems associated with this kind of network | | | | problem by adding mare coverage. |
| have been sorted out. | | | | Another concern with a wireless home network is |
| The main standards for wireless Ethernet are 802.11a, | | | | security. There are several measures that should be |
| 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n. The differences are mostly | | | | undertaken to prevent just anyone who wanders into |
| in speed and radio frequency. The A standard was | | | | signal range from getting on your network. One is to |
| first, and runs in the 5GHz spectrum with a speed of | | | | enable encryption. Virtually every wireless access point |
| 54Mbps. However, this standard never really became | | | | or router supports at least some form of basic |
| popular because of the short range of most of the | | | | encryption. You can normally set up a key or |
| receivers. The B variant was designed as a slower | | | | password that machines connecting to the network |
| 11Mbps system in the 2.4GHz band, which was much | | | | need to know. Another thing that is recommended is |
| cheaper to implement than the A version and had | | | | hiding the SSID. This is the name the wireless network |
| better range. This was a bit more popular due to lower | | | | appears as when other machines detect it. Most |
| cost. When the G standard arrived, it ran in the same | | | | routers will let you optionally hide the name so that it's |
| band as B, but offered the same speed as A, at | | | | another thing someone needs to know to get on the |
| increased range. This rapidly killed off most of the A | | | | network. Even if someone scans for your network |
| standard equipment, and G is still the most popular | | | | with special tools, they'll only know a network is |
| standard today. | | | | present, but not what it's called. This can add an extra |
| 802.11n is the future standard. Some manufacturers | | | | layer of effort that will convince small-time hackers |
| started adding improvements to their 802.11g | | | | you're not worth the bother when someone else with |
| equipment that could improve the speed significantly, | | | | worse security is nearby. |
| but most of these solutions were proprietary. You | | | | Nothing is ever completely secure, since there are |
| needed to have the same brand of wireless | | | | always flaws in software and hardware. However, |
| equipment for all the machines involved for it to | | | | most people capable of defeating the standard |
| transmit at higher speeds. This wasn't really ideal. So, | | | | security measures aren't interested in the average |
| 802.11n was proposed to incorporate all the various | | | | home user, but rather larger corporate networks. The |
| improvements that have been made in the last few | | | | truly paranoid have the option of more extreme |
| years. | | | | measures such as MAC address access lists and |
| Wireless hardware often has issues in home networks | | | | third-party solutions that can improve network security, |
| due to the environment. Walls tend to seriously impede | | | | but in general, most users will be fine with encryption |
| the signal, especially ones with internal plumbing, as the | | | | enabled and the network name hidden. |
| pipes can interfere. So, most homes with a single | | | | |