The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Wireless Networking Security - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
There is plenty of literature about installing a wireless network; this title focuses on security issues. Wireless networks broadcast a signal that can be picked up by anyone who has a wireless adapter within range, and there is no way of even detecting such an interception. There is, unfortunately, much "hype and hysteria" surrounding what is commonly called Wi-Fi; the author of Caution! Wireless Networking sets out to identify the genuine threats and show how to develop protective measures.
This is an informed, but common sense, text suitable for novice and intermediate-level users of wireless networks. Readers are not assumed to have any special technical knowledge.
The style is that of a good user manual: well organised information, clear language, and text supported by useful diagrams. The first half of the book provides an excellent overview of Wi-Fi and its many standards, network fundamentals (the mysteries of nodes, TCP/IP, domain names, network bridges, and routers and gateways), and the security threats. The second half covers solutions including discovering common technical problems, identifying threats to wireless data, encryption, securing a WLAN, and protecting hardware from spikes and surges. Appendices contain information about resources and wireless standards, and there is a valuable glossary of technical terms.
An essential resource for Wi-Fi users, a must-read for anyone contemplating a wireless network, and highly recommended for libraries for its lucid explanations of Wi-Fi technologies. Very good value.
|
Jack McCullough: Caution! Wireless Networking ISBN 0-7645-7213-X Published by Wiley, 268 pp., RRP $41.95 incl. GST |
 |
Reprinted from the June 2005 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
