You have just taken over network support for a small company. They are currently using MAC filtering to secure their wireless network. Is this adequate or not and why or why not?

Question

Options

• AYes, in fact MAC filtering is the most security you can have.
• BNo, you should have WEP or WPA encryption as well.
• CYes, MAC filtering includes encryption.
• DNo, MAC filtering is not secure at all.

• A
  3% (1)
• B
  79% (30)
• C
  5% (2)
• D
  13% (5)

Explanation

MAC filtering allows the possibility of someone using a packet sniffer and obtaining the MAC addresses of the computers that connect to your network. A skilled hacker can then emulate or fake those MAC addresses and gain access to your network. You need to also implement some form of encryption. FactWhat is WEP? Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security protocol for wireless local area networks (WLANs). It has two components, authentication and encryption. It provides security, which is equivalent to wired networks, for wireless networks. WEP encrypts data on a wireless network by using a fixed secret key. WEP incorporates a checksum in each frame to provide protection against the attacks that attempt to reveal the key stream. FactWhat is WPA? WPA stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access. It is a wireless security standard. It provides better security than WEP (Wired Equivalent Protection). Windows Vista supports both WPA-PSK and WPA-EAP. Each of these is described as follows: WPA-PSK: PSK stands for Preshared key. This standard is meant for home environment. WPA- PSK requires a user to enter an 8-character to 63-character passphrase into a wireless client. The WPA converts the passphrase into a 256-bit key. WPA-EAP: EAP stands for Extensible Authentication Protocol. This standard relies on a back-end server that runs Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service for user authentication. Note: Windows Vista supports a user to use a smart card to connect to a WPA-EAP protected network. Answer option A is incorrect. MAC filtering by itself is not very secure. Answer option C is incorrect. MAC filtering does not include encryption. Answer option D is incorrect. MAC filtering does provide a certain measure of security, but by itself is usually not sufficient.

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