Intellinet Network Solutions 523967 - Manual (Page 82)

2-7-6 Security Tips for Wireless Networks
Here are some quick tips to help you improve the security level of your
wireless network:
1. Never use simple words for the WPA/WEP encryption passphrase. A good
password cannot be found in the dictionary and consists of characters, symbols
and numbers.
You should also refrain from using passwords which carry a personal meaning:
names of pets, names or birthdays of a wife or husband etc. These are all bad
choices for a password.
2. Use WPA over WEP whenever possible. WPA encryption, and especially WPA2
encryption, is much stronger than WEP encryption. If your wireless network
adapters support WPA or WPA2, you should abandon WEP for good. Unless you
don't care about network security, that is.
3. You can hide the ESSID of this router by setting the 'Broadcast ESSID' option
(Advanced Wireless Settings page) to 'Disable'. Once the option is disabled, the
router will no longer broadcast the SSID; thus, wireless clients in the area will not
be able to see the wireless network in the list of available WLAN networks. Keep
in mind that hiding the SSID will make it more complicated for wireless clients to
join the network, and that is basically the idea. Instead of selecting the Wireless
network from the list, the user now must manually enter the Wireless SSID, which
will be difficult without knowing what it is. While this option offers additional
protection, you should never rely on this mechanism as your only means of
protection. A WPA encryption key remains highly recommended. Hiding the SSID
of your Access Point is simply one additional step you can take.
4. Use the 'Access Control' function described in section 2-7-4, so people who are
not in your list will not be able to connect to your network. If you don't have guest
traffic, you normally know which computers access your network and you can
specifically allow those computers and deny all the others.
5. Utilizing all three mechanisms (encryption, no SSID broadcast and MAC address
filtering) offers the best protection against unauthorized access.