Wireless Access Points: Thin vs Fat

Wireless LAN Switches: The Best Solution

There are two types of wireless access points Intelligent (Fat) and Thin wireless Access points. A fat wireless access point has everything it needs to handle wireless clients. A Thin wireless access point is basically a radio and antenna that is controlled by a wireless switch. If you deploy several Fat wireless access points they need to be configured individually. With thin wireless access points the entire configuration takes place at the switch saving you time and money.

Wireless LAN Switches provide many benefits:

Wireless Mobility รขโ�ฌโ�� Intelligent access arenรขโ�ฌโ�ขt managed in a central location which means there is no third party monitoring the movement of a user. If a user moves to another work area traditional wireless access points have a hard time passing off the user to the new access point. Thin wireless access points are controlled be the wireless LAN switch who will manage the users movement.

Security- Using the wireless LAN switch the administrator can check logs, configure is security settings, make group polices for wireless users all in one spot. Also built in to many wireless LAN switches are RADIUS servers which will give another layer of security on top of your encryption policies. In enterprise wireless networks the administrators biggest fear is rogue wireless access points. Wireless LAN switches can detect when a new wireless access point comes into the area and decide if it is a trusted or non-trusted device.

Placement รขโ�ฌโ�� Power over Ethernet is another great feature of wireless LAN Switches. Power over Ethernet eliminates the need for an power outlet to be near the wireless access point. This saves your company money by not having to install new power outlets. Also this improves security by not having the wireless access points within easy reach of passerbyรขโ�ฌโ�ขs.

If you are deploying a wireless LAN for a company I would be scared if you donรขโ�ฌโ�ขt utilize wireless LAN switches and wireless thin access points. The upfront costs of these products are more but your total cost of ownership will be less than having to administer each wireless access point separately. To sum it up home owners should stick with Fat access points and businesses should use thin.

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E-mail Privacy Mythology

Many people believe that e-mail privacy is inherent and guaranteed, psychologically equating it with the postal system. E-mail systems were a crucial tool in creating the Internet, and actually predate the Internet in existence. While the ability to access your personal e-mail messages is secured with a password, this is insufficient to guarantee legitimate security. There are additional security considerations when using laptops to access e-mail systems.

Businesses are increasingly relying on electronic mail to correspond with clients and colleagues. As more people find the need to transmit sensitive information through the internet, the need for e-mail privacy becomes more apparent.

The e-mail message is perpetually exposed to unauthorized access as it travels along this unprotected Internet from the composer to the reader. If routers between the source and destination of an e-mail message are compromised, potentially any e-mail message passing through that router could be accessed.

Unencrypted e-mails should be regarded as postcard, in that anyone who receives it can read it. Intelligence agencies screen unencrypted e-mails with ease and conduct these screens regularly.

Some e-mail you may send and receive could be considered company property. It is unwise to associate personal e-mails of any kind with a company address.

When using laptop notebooks to send and receive e-mail, you may often be using someone elseรขโ�ฌโ�ขs network. You must be aware if using a wireless network if the network is encrypted. If the network is not properly encrypted any e-mail you send or receive is accessible to any skilled person within the wireless signal range. Even when using secure networks, everything you send and receive is going through their system. It is imperative that one uses TLS encryption when sending mail, and to use a send mail server other than the foreign network. When reading e-mail on someone elseรขโ�ฌโ�ขs network, you must make sure your mail server supports SSL and use the encrypted access only.

If you delete an e-mail you must not have the misconception that the existence of the e-mail is gone forever. This is not the case as most electronic documents are backed up and recoverable, and most e-mails are backed up on a remote server at some point in time.

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Security4Laptops.com is your definitive guide to using mobile devices with the privacy and security necessary in this modern work-a-day on-the-go world.