Secure the Wireless Access Point
Another major consideration when designing a wireless security scheme is the point of access to the wired network. Without securing the access point, most of your plans for securing clients are done in vain.Unfortunately, the procedure for securing this access point will differ depending on which brand of WAP is in use. What follows then are just some very general considerations to look for, using examples from a wireless router that's used to share out your author's broadband Internet connection.Every wireless device will have some way of managing its default settings. In the case of my wireless router, this is done with a263 interface. To access the device settings, I connect to the Website running on the internal interface's IP address. I type http://192.168.2.1 into my Web browser, and get a login page that looks like what you see in Figure 10-13.
Figure 10-13. Accessing the management interface of the wireless access point (WAP).
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How Do I Know My IP Address Is Private?The 192.168.2.1 IP address is within a range of reserved private IP addresses. Lots of machines that have Internet access can have the IP address of 192.168.2.1, but none of them can be directly attached to the Internet. Another device, such as a router, acts as a go-between. In the case of my router, that go-between is the interface connected to the cable modem, and thus my ISP. Confusing? It can be. For further information on private IP addresses, please refer to Chapter 9, "Playing Nicely with Others." |