User guide

156 Appendix B: Glossary
AirMagnet Laptop Analyzer User Guide
A parameter used in the configuration of the Real-Time FFT, Spectrum Density, and
Spectrogram graphs. It is the value of radio frequency at the upper end of the spectrum band
in these graphs. See Start Frequency.
Unicast
The process of sending duplicates of the same message to multiple destinations on the
network. In unicast, even though multiple users might request the same data from the same
server at the same time, duplicate data streams are transmitted, one to each destination.
Compare multicast.
Unknown
A variable in the Security column of the WiFi Device graph. It means that the application is
unable to determine whether any security mechanism is used on a certain device based on
packets transmitted from that device.
Unmodulated Interference
Interference caused by signal “bleed over” outside the modulated spectrum of a device.
WEP (Wired-Equivalent Privacy)
A security protocol within the IEEE 802.11 standard that provides a WLAN with a minimum
level of security and privacy comparable to that of a typical wired LAN. WEP encrypts data
transmitted over the WLAN to protect vulnerable connection between APs and stations.
However, since WEP regulates WLAN access based on a device’s MAC address which is
relatively easy to be sniffed out and stolen, it offers limited security to a WLAN.
Wireless Network Adapter
A hardware device that interfaces a station (e.g., a computer) to a network. Modern network
adapter hardware comes in many forms, such as PCI Ethernet cards, PCMCIA devices, or USB
devices. Some laptop computers even come with integrated wireless network adapters pre-
installed on them in the form of circuit chips. Operating systems support network adapters
through a piece of software known as “device driver”, which enables application software to
communicate with the adapter. Some network adapters are software packages that simulate
the function of a network adapter. Also known as wireless network card, WiFi card.
WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network)
A local area network (LAN) to which wireless users (stations) can connect and communicate
via high-frequency radio waves rather than copper wires.
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)
A security protocol for the IEEE 802.11 standard designed to overcome the security
vulnerabilities of WEP. WPA operates in either WPA-Personal mode (aka Pre-Shared Key) or
WPA-Enterprise mode (aka RADIUS or WPA-802.1x). In WPA-Personal mode, a pre-shared
key is used for authentication. In WPA-Enterprise mode, which is more difficult to configure,
the 802.1 x RADIUS servers and an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) are used for
authentication. The enhanced WPA2 uses Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) instead of
Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) to provide stronger encryption mechanism.
WPA-Personal
See WPA.