Unit 8 Discussion Analysis: 802.11 Family

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Unit 8 Discussion 1 802.11 a/b/g/n - The 802.11 family consists of a series of over-the-air modulation techniques that use the same basic protocol. The most popular are those defined by the 802.11b and 802.11g protocols, which are amendments to the original standard. 802.11-1997 was the first wireless networking standard, but 802.11b was the first widely accepted one, followed by 802.11g and 802.11n. 802.11n is a new multi-streaming modulation technique. DOS, Man the Middle, and Identity theft attacks are very common with this type of network standard. One hurdle is the range at which they can broadcast. Another hurdle could be securing the network since anyone can scan and connect to it. I feel that this standard can be used in a home enterprise…show more content…
A client device receives beacon messages from all access points within range advertising their SSIDs. The client device can then either manually or automatically—based on configuration—select the network with which to associate. The SSID can be up to 32 characters long. As the SSID displays to users, it normally consists of human-readable characters. However, the standard does not require this. The SSID is defined as a sequence of 2–32 octets each of which may take any value. It is legitimate for multiple access points to share the same SSID if they provide access to the same network as part of an extended service set. Many access points allow a user to turn off the broadcast of the SSID. With many network client devices, this results in the detected network displaying as an unnamed network and the user would need to manually enter the correct SSID to connect to the network. Unfortunately, turning off the broadcast of the SSID may lead to a false sense of security. The method discourages only casual wireless snooping, but does not stop a person trying to attack the network. It is not secure against determined crackers, because every time someone connects to the network, the SSID is transmitted in clear text even if the wireless connection is otherwise encrypted. An eavesdropper can passively sniff the wireless traffic on that network undetected and wait for someone to connect, revealing the SSID. Alternatively, there are faster methods where a cracker spoofs a disassociate frame as if it came from the wireless bridge, and sends it to one of the clients connected; the client immediately re-connects, revealing the SSID. As disabling SSID does not offer protection against determined crackers, proven security methods should be used such as requiring 802.11/WPA2. This is ideal for home

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