I know a lot of you are pretty up on the latest and are a ware of the risks involved, but felt like it would be appropriate to interject a little 'security' reminder into a discussion on wireless access, especially one so focused on 'what is easiest'. wireless is possible the coolest inovation to come along in the last few years, especially when combined with a sweet new laptop that is rigged as powerfully as a desktop. just remember that these networks are EXTREMELY easy to crack. some punk could sit outside you house in a car with a laptop and easily gain access to your entire network. heres an example of how and what im talking about.......my point is simply this: look before you leap, amigos.
NetStumbler, a shareware program available on <A HREF="http://www.netstumbler.com" target="_new">http://www.netstumbler.com</A>, used in conjunction with a Lucent-chipset based Orinoco NIC "sniffs" for wireless networks. The data that NetStumbler returns is truly amazing. When NetStumbler identifies an 802.11b signal, it logs the MAC address of the access point, the network name, SSID, manufacturer, channel that it was heard on, WEP Enabled (Yes or No), signal strength, signal to noise ratio, and various flags. In addition, if you have a GPS that outputs standard NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association's standards for data communication between marine instruments) data, the latitude and longitude data points are also entered into the log file. Additionally, a real-time display showing signal strength is available.
but just to prove im not all doom and gloom: if you enable a wireless VPN all this data, including you network data would be transmitted in 128 bit encription. look into it, unless you prefer to wait til the neighbors kid gets netstumbler and posts your bank statement on the local message board. ooops.
ignore everything i say