Wi-Fi detector

A device used to detect and analyze the presence of Wi-Fi networks (hotspots). A WiFi detector can be a standalone handheld device that requires batteries to operate or a USB device that can be connected to your computer or laptop. A typical WiFi detector will show both the presence of a signal, detect WEP or WPA encryption, wireless standard (802.11b or 802.11g) as well as the relative signal strength. This information obtained...

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Wi-Fi

The name of a popular wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to provide wireless high-speed Internet and network connections. The Wi-Fi Alliance, the organization that owns the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) term specifically defines Wi-Fi as any "wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards." Initially, Wi-Fi was used in...

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Wireless Home Network Security

Many folks setting up wireless home networks rush through the job to get their Internet connectivity working as quickly as possible. That's totally understandable. It's also quite risky as numerous security problems can result. Today's Wi-Fi networking products don't always help the situation as configuring their security features can be time-consuming and non-intuitive. The recommendations below summarize the steps you should...

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How to Install a Wireless Printer

Setting up a printer to share over Wi-Fi isn't difficult, but it does require some preparation. Here's our advice for ensuring a smooth installation.Wireless printers are increasingly popular, because such printers are easy to share and can reside just about anywhere you wish--within reach of the Wi-Fi signal, of course. The vast majority of wireless printer installations will run smoothly if you are armed with the details of...

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How to Crack a Wi-Fi Network’s WEP Password with BackTrack

You already know that if you want to lock down your Wi-Fi network, you should opt for WPA encryption because WEP is easy to crack. But did you know how easy? Take a look.Note: This post demonstrates how to crack WEP passwords, an older and less often used network security protocol. If the network you want to crack is using the more popular WPA encryption, see our guide to cracking a Wi-Fi network's WPA password...

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