The Security Mentor

Every article that tells you how to secure a wireless network says something like "enable WEP" or "enable WPA". They never say how. That's because it's a royal hassle which has defeated even computer-savvy people. I've tried before to explain how to set up WEP wireless security.

The problem is that the wireless devices need to have a secret code key in order to scramble and descramble their communications with each other. Most vendors made the tragic decision to make the human put the secret code key into each device instead of letting the devices figure it out themselves. Worse, different vendors picked different and incompatible ways for the human ot put in the secret code key.

One vendor got it right. Buffalo shipped devices which set the secret key automatically. You'd put two or more devices in range of each other and push a button on each to do the security setup. The devices would decide on and share a key without involving the human.

This idea is finally catching on. Linksys and HP are among the vendors who'll be building systems with a new chipset that lets them automate setting up wireless security.

Glenn Fleishmann's indispensable Wi-Fi Networking News asks a good question about security. What happens if someone in the parking lot is hanging out on your network constantly trying to get in on a security setup? Won't they be able to sneak in as soon as you start the setup process? One of the two systems coming out (let's pray they work together!) solves the problem by requiring a simple password. Glenn Fleishmann interviewed someone familiar with the other system who says it will warn you if someone slips in during the key setup.