Wireless Security Basics; Turn Off Wireless Connectivity; Disable Ssid Broadcast; Restrict Access By Mac Address - NETGEAR DGND3800B User Manual

N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit VDSL2 Modem Router DGND3800B

Wireless Security Basics

Unlike wired network data, wireless data transmissions extend beyond your walls and can be
received by any device with a compatible wireless adapter (radio). For this reason, it is very
important to maintain the preset security and understand the other security features available
to you. Besides the preset security settings described earlier, your modem router has the
security features described here and in

Turn off wireless connectivity

•

Disable SSID broadcast

•

Restrict access by MAC address

•
Wireless security options
•
Turn Off Wireless Connectivity
You can completely turn off the wireless connectivity of the modem router by pressing the
Wireless On/Off button on its front panel
to wirelessly connect to your modem router and you take a business trip, you can turn off the
wireless portion of the modem router while you are traveling. Other members of your
household who use computers connected to the modem router through Ethernet cables can
still use the modem router.
Disable SSID Broadcast
By default, the modem router broadcasts its Wi-Fi network name (SSID) so devices can find
it. If you change this setting to not allow the broadcast, wireless devices cannot find your
modem router unless they are configured with the same SSID. See
on page 36 for the procedure.
Settings
Turning off SSID broadcast nullifies the wireless network discovery feature of some products
such as Windows XP, but the data is still fully exposed to a determined snoop using
specialized test equipment like wireless sniffers. If you allow the broadcast, be sure to keep
wireless security enabled.
Restrict Access by MAC Address
You can enhance your network security by allowing access to only specific computers based
on their Media Access Control (MAC) addresses. You can restrict access to only trusted
computers so that unknown computers cannot wirelessly connect to the modem router. MAC
address filtering adds an obstacle against unwanted access to your network, but the data
broadcast over the wireless link is fully exposed (unencrypted).The Wireless Station Access
List determines which wireless hardware devices are allowed to connect to the modem router
by MAC address.
Chapter 4, Content
. For example, if you use your notebook computer
Wireless Settings
31
Filtering.
Wireless Access Point