Owner's Manual

Configuring Your Wireless Network and Security Settings
17
N300 Wireless Gigabit ADSL2+ Modem Router DGN3500
Wireless Security Options
Indoors, computers can connect over 802.11g wireless networks at a maximum range of up
to 300
feet. Such distances can allow for others outside your immediate area to access your
network.
Unlike wired network data, your wireless data transmissions can extend beyond your walls
and can be received by anyone with a compatible adapter. For this reason, use the security
features of your wireless equipment. The wireless modem router provides highly effective
security features, which are covered in detail in this chapter. Deploy the security features
appropriate to your needs.
There are several ways you can enhance the security of your wireless network:
• Restrict access based on MAC address. You can allow only trusted PCs to connect so
that unknown PCs cannot wirelessly connect to the wireless modem router. Restricting
access by MAC address adds an obstacle against unwanted access to your network, but
the data broadcast over the wireless link is fully exposed (see
Restricting Wireless
Access to Your Network on page 21).
• Turn off the broadcast of the wireless network name SSID. If you disable broadcast of
the SSID, only devices that have the correct SSID can connect. This nullifies wireless
network discovery feature of some products, such as Windows XP, but the data is still
exposed (see
Hiding your wireless network name (SSID) on page 22).
• WEP. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption provides data security. WEP
Shared Key authentication and WEP data encryption block all but the most determined
eavesdropper. This data encryption mode has been superseded by WPA-PSK and
WPA2-PSK (see
Configuring WEP on page 25).
• WPA-802.1x. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) with user authentication implemented using
IEE
802.1x and RADIUS servers (see Configuring WPA-802.1x on page 26).
• WPA-PSK (TKIP) + WPA2-PSK (AES). Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) using a
pre-shared key to perform authentication and generate the initial data encryption keys.
The very strong authentication along with dynamic per frame re-keying of WPA makes it
virtually impossible to compromise (see
Configuring Mixed WPA-PSK+WPA2-PSK
Security on page 24).
For more information about wireless technology, see the link to the online document in Virtual
Private Networking Basics in Appendix B.
Manually Configuring Your Wireless Settings
You can view or manually configure the wireless settings for the modem router in the
Wireless Settings screen. If you want to make changes, make sure to note the current
settings first.