Customer Reviews

Building Secure Wireless Networks with 802.11

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Wireless networking is the hottest technological innovation of the past few years, but the unpleasant fact is that security is its greatest weakness. In a crowded market of computer security titles, a niche exists for a book that lays out wireless security problems and couples them with solutions.

Unfortunately, this is not that book. While well written, the book is thin on security matters; security is only first dealt with in chapter six. That coverage is interrupted by five chapters on building wireless networks. Discussion of security doesn't resume until chapter twelve.

Despite its title, the book is more about setting up, configuring, and managing wireless networks, with occasional digressions into security issues. Only about 35 pages of this 320-page book directly deal with wireless security. The book would make a good introduction for designing wireless networks, but it falls short as a security reference.

The book is easy to follow and doesn't include unnecessary information or page fillers. The book walks you through details of 802.11 deployment issues and security concerns. I was able to install a wireless LAN by following this book in about 2 days and was able to convince people at my work about the security concerns. The book also deals with 802.1x which I really needed to know (note: the review by publisher doesn't say anything about it). The best things I like about this book is that authors have presented facts and they have not taken any sides.

The authors of this book have extensive first-hand knowledge of the technology and concepts they write about. Recently, wireless networks have exploded onto the home and business markets. The ability to network computers without having to string cables across your home or hire a 3rd-party company to wire new network jacks is very appealing.

The problem is that if your network traffic is flying through the air to your wireless networked computers, it can also be intercepted by unintended recipients. If you are going to delve into the world of wireless networking, it is important that you read this book to learn how to do so securely.

(...)

Home wireless networks are on the rise because of 802.11b, but the security for them is lagging behind. If you want to catch up with what's really going on, pick up this book.