2 wireless security, 5 good habits for managing the zyxel device – ZyXEL Communications 802.11b/g Wireless Access Point NWA-1100 User Manual
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Chapter 1 Introducing the ZyXEL Device
ZyXEL NWA-1100 User’s Guide
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• Change any default passwords on the ZyXEL Device, such as the password used for
accessing the ZyXEL Device’s web configurator (if it has a web configurator). Use a
password with a combination of letters and numbers and change your password regularly.
Write down the password and put it in a safe place.
• Avoid setting a long timeout period before the ZyXEL Device’s web configurator
automatically times out. A short timeout reduces the risk of unauthorized person accessing
the web configurator while it is left idle.
• See
for instructions on changing your password and setting the
timeout period.
• Configure remote management to control who can manage your ZyXEL Device. See
for more information. If you enable remote management, ensure
you have enabled remote management only on the IP addresses, services or interfaces you
intended and that other remote management settings are disabled.
1.4.2 Wireless Security
Wireless devices are especially vulnerable to attack. If your ZyXEL Device has a wireless
function, take the following measures to improve wireless security.
• Enable wireless security on your ZyXEL Device. Choose the most secure encryption
method that all devices on your network support. See
on configuring encryption. If you have a RADIUS server, enable IEEE 802.1x or WPA(2)
user identification on your network so users must log in. This method is more common in
business environments.
• Hide your wireless network name (SSID). The SSID can be regularly broadcast and
unauthorized users may use this information to access your network. See
for directions on using the web configurator to hide the SSID.
• Enable the MAC filter to allow only trusted users to access your wireless network or deny
unwanted users access based on their MAC address. See
directions on configuring the MAC filter.
1.5 Good Habits for Managing the ZyXEL Device
Do the following things regularly to make the ZyXEL Device more secure and to manage it
more effectively.
• Change the password often. Use a password that’s not easy to guess and that consists of
different types of characters, such as numbers and letters.
• Write down the password and put it in a safe place.
• Back up the configuration (and make sure you know how to restore it). Restoring an
earlier working configuration may be useful if the device becomes unstable or even
crashes. If you forget your password, you will have to reset the ZyXEL Device to its
factory default settings. If you backed up an earlier configuration file, you won’t have to
totally re-configure the ZyXEL Device; you can simply restore your last configuration.