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Secure Your Network
This section provides some general information about how to
protect your network from security threats.
The single most important step that you can take to secure your
network is to install the Microsoft Broadband Networking Wireless
Base Station. The base station provides an important security layer
between your network computers and the Internet. However, even
with the base station installed, your wireless network is still
vulnerable to viruses and eavesdropping. To minimize risks to your
network security, follow these suggestions:
• Enable wireless security (WEP) when you run the Setup Wizard.
• Install an antivirus software program and do not open unknown
e-mail attachments.
• Create strong passwords.
Some security mechanisms, such as network address translation
(NAT) and firewall settings, are activated on the Microsoft Wireless
Base Station by default. You can customize these security settings
from the Base Station Management Tool. For information about
the Base Station Management Tool, see Chapter 6.
Protect Your Network from Hackers
The Microsoft Wireless Base Station provides a firewall and NAT to
secure your system from hacker attacks.
A firewall is a barrier that helps protect your network from outside
intruders. Like an actual firewall built to prevent fire from
spreading between adjoining buildings, computer firewalls help
prevent the spread of unauthorized communication between an
individual computer or group of networked computers and the
Internet.
The firewall specifies what information can be communicated from
the computers on your network to the Internet, and from the
Internet to the computers on your network. You may discover,
however, that you may not be able to transmit data from some
programs across the firewall. If this is the case, you can use the
Base Station Management Tool to configure the base station to
transmit the data that you require.
Network address translation hides the IP addresses of the
computers on a network from the Internet so that only the base
station's IP address is visible. Hiding network IP addresses
provides another layer of protection against hackers trying to
access the computers on your network.
For more information about NAT and firewall settings, see
"Security Settings" in Chapter 6.
38 Microsoft Broadband Networking Wireless Base Station User's Guide
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