Windows Vista Security For Dummies®

Chapter 12. Locking Down Wireless

In This Chapter

• A quick wireless security primer

• Finding out what's new in Vista wireless security

• Seeing how to configure your wireless connections securely with Vista

• Discovering how to secure your wireless access point

Wireless networking saved the day! Well, it did for me. I had the drill out, the tool to pull the cable through the wall, a few hundred feet of network cabling, and the weekend free. I was ready to go. Then it struck me: Go wireless! Not necessarily a difficult decision because I really wasn't looking forward to drilling and pulling cable through the floors and walls of my 100‐year‐old house. So I went out and purchased the wireless equipment. About two hours after arriving home with it in hand, I had every system in my house connected wirelessly.

My experience isn't unique. Wireless connectivity is picking up steam because it's so convenient, providing users with longed‐after flexibility. Wireless devices are so easy to set up that even the most novice users can install a wireless network within minutes — certainly within an hour. That, however, is where the problem lies. Because manufacturers of these devices develop their systems to be so easy to use that any Joe Schmoe can do it, little security exists for the default settings. The average user plugs in the device, performs a few steps, and walks away with a wireless network, never to return to implement any type of security. As a result, bits and bytes of possibly very personal ...