Do you know if your new computer already has wireless capability? Many new computers have the built-in software and connections in order for you to set up a wireless network. These wireless networking devices are so inexpensive that the manufacturers of the computers include them as part of the package and can be found on the system specification list.

Like most people, however, you may not even know how much memory your computer has, let alone whether it arrived already wireless-enabled. This is especially true if you don’t know what wireless networking is. It’s easy to ignore this detail in the specifications that come with the computer and to fail to take the time to set it up and get it working. Let’s look at some things to look for if you want to check your computer’s wireless capabilities.

Intel Centrino

If you own a laptop that comes with something called ‘Intel Centrino mobile technology’, this is what you’re looking for! Unfortunately, manufacturers of computers are not good at explaining what this technology is or does. Quite simply, it means that your laptop has wireless networking built right in; you don’t need to do a thing! Intel Centrino is a term used in marketing that stands for a combination of the Intel Pentium M processor and Intel’s Pro/Wireless card.

Your computer should have an ‘Intel Centrino’ sticker on it somewhere if it is enabled with Intel Centrino. If you don’t see this type of sticker, you can also check the name of your processor by right-clicking the My Computer icon in the Start Menu (or on your desktop) and clicking on “Properties” from the menu. Look at the wording following the word “Computer” in this section. It should tell you if it has the wireless feature.

Intel Centrino technology has the capability of increasing the life of your computer’s battery and allows computers to be smaller in size. If you didn’t buy an Intel Centrino laptop but your laptop has a free card slot, adding wireless capabilities will be no problem.
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It is deniable that our works and lives are more convenient and easier when using wireless. We can work anywhere and that is why wireless networks are becoming so popular. Especially if you have broadband Internet access, a wireless router can give you instant communication with the world.

Imagine you are sitting by the pool and enjoying chatting through the Internet. Or lounging in the Jacuzzi listening to your MP3 collection is appealing to us all. Unfortunately, many, or even most, wireless units don’t come with security features already functioning. This may not seem like a big issue to someone who is simply setting up a home network, but there are a number of potential problems you should consider.

Identity theft seems to be the most serious problem. If your network is unsecured, the personal data on your wireless electronic equipment is also unsecured. The order you just placed for a book at Amazon may have given your contact and payment information to an unscrupulous hacker! Nearly every town in which “WiFi” is common will have “War Drivers” and “War Chalkers” at work. These are people who walk or drive around town with wireless equipment, searching for unsecured networks. The “Chalkers” then live up their name, marking curbs and other public items with chalk so that others can more easily find and exploit your network.

In fact, not all “War Drivers” are hackers, of course. Many just want to use your network for free, but the risk is high if you don’t learn how to protect yourself. You can usually find quite a bit of free information as to how to secure your network at the website of your router’s manufacturer, or by doing a search in a search engine for a phrase like “secure home wireless.”

In addition, there are also your neighbors who may find your network by accident and enjoy nosing into your activities and using your Internet access at will, slowing down your network speed in the process.

Even many businesses use cheap, home-use quality equipment for their company networks. With the poor security often found on small business networks, anyone with a basic knowledge of wireless can access sensitive company and customer data.

It is highly recommended that you hire service companies to secure your network for you, or else you will have to bear with a risk of being exploited. A search of your local yellow pages or an inquiry at your neighborhood computer store should yield professional help and get your private data private again.

To the information security professional wireless networking may be thought of as a four letter word to be avoided at all costs. Regardless of the security implication wireless networking can provide cost efficiency, and because of that wireless technologies are here to stay. While many in the profession believe that wireless networks can be easily compromised, this class will show how the appropriate wireless architecture with the proper security controls can make your wireless network as secure as any other remote access point into your network.

In this three day, wireless security workshop, we will examine the cutting edge of wireless technologies. The purpose of the course is to give you a full understanding of what wireless (802.11) networks are, how they work, how people find them and exploit them, and how they can be secured. This hands-on course is based on real world examples, solutions, and deployments. In this course we will actually set up and use wireless networks, determine the tools to uncover wireless networks, and also look at how to defeat the attempts to secure wireless networks.

Course Completion
Upon the completion of our CISM course, students will have:

Constructed a wireless network architecture
Install and configure 802.1x authentication using Microsoft Windows IAS and Server 2000
Install a wireless access point
Distinguish between 802.11x standards
Defeat Wired Equivalent Privacy
Key Take Aways:

An understanding of wireless networks
A CD of common tools and documentation
An ability to search the internet for updates and more information on wireless networks
Detail of Course Content The following topics will be covered:

Wireless History
Radio Frequency (RF) Fundamentals
WLAN Infrastructure
802.11 Network Architecture
802.1X Authentication
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)/(LEAP)/(PEAP)
Detection Platforms
WLAN Discovery Tools
Kismet
Wireless Sniffers
Conventional Detection
Antennas
Exploiting WLANs
Securing WLANs
Other Wireless Options
Legal Issues including GLBA and ISO-17799
Future
Resources