What Is Wireless Internet Protocol?

What Is Wireless Internet Protocol

Most people these days prefer to use wireless Internet connections whether they are in their offices, homes or on the road. Because of these wireless connections, it has become a lot easier to use the Internet from more places within a home or an organization; thus, simplifying network access by avoiding the hassles of layed out wires and not being able to walk around freely whilst online. This mobility and comfort of being able to access a global network (see image) securely has made it possible through a technological advancement called wireless Internet protocol (WIP).

WIP is not without its problems, however. This article takes a look at WIP security and provides a brief summary of what users need to know before creating or using a wireless network.

WIP Security

Wireless Internet Technology is great for mobile users (as previosuly mentioned), but it is possible for anyone to pick up the information being transmitted on a wireless network; therefore, the Wireless Internet Protocol came out to allow a secure wireless connection. WIP helps by preventing unauthorized people from accessing someone else’s network resources like shared files, peripherals, etc. By preventing unauthorized accesses to one’s own network, a computer user can stop outsiders from consuming their Internet bandwidth.

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) was the first security algorithm used with Wireless Internet Protocol. However, it has been criticized due to weak encryption, authentication, and small key size. To solve these problems, the Wi-Fi Alliance introduced Wi-Fi Protected Access protocol (WPA) and Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) that offer better security to the wireless networks. WPA and WPA2 use multiple pass keys instead of a single key for all network users. Moreover, WPA can use more key combinations, making it difficult for anyone to guess the key. WEP is still widely used in homes and cafes but it is insufficient for business environments because rapid transmission of data can help eavesdroppers or attackers to discover the encryption key easily.

Note: For more information on WEP and WPA, see Eli Misel’s article: <em>Advantages/Disadvantages: WEP/WPA Network Security</em>

Easy Setup

With WIP, network installation costs have been reduced significantly, especially in large workplaces. The conventional wired networks not only take time to be installed, but also cost more than the wireless ones. The installation of wireless networks is easy, less complicated, and takes less time to complete. The other major advantage of wireless networks is that you can avoid all the hassle of the tangled wiring in an office or home. Furthermore, computer users get the mobility to use the Internet at anytime and from anywhere they are. These benefits have become possible for mobile users with the help of the Wireless Internet Protocol.

Image Credits

Image Credit: Global Network

References Section

Protocols - Acronyms (W): https://www.protocols.com//acronyms/w.htm

Wireless Internet Technology: https://www.wifinotes.com/wireless-internet-technology.html