While a wireless local area network (WLAN) is something which brings a great way to add connectivity to either the home or the business, there have always been issues raised over the security of sending packets of data over the airwaves. The worry of outside sources being able to crack WLAN is an area which has brought a lot of debate. The benefits of going wireless include not having to worry about the expense and hassle of installing cables, and the ease of linking to a wireless connection is something which is extremely quick and efficient. It also takes a marked improvement as there are no worries about installing the data outlets, there are no worries over broken connections and damage to any of the cabling itself as it usually trails across the floor somewhere. The ability to crack WLAN as opposed to having to overcome the physical obstacles of trying to hack into a hard wired LAN, which would need some physical connection to the network, is, on a very basic principle, something which is a lot easier to achieve. There can be any number of network connections in the same area of space, if you have authorization to them all it can be a wonderful thing. Problems arise when anyone sat with a wireless antenna within a reasonable distance could also be seeing the packets of data being transferred across your network. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was designed to combat this, so that it was harder to crack WLAN broadcasts. But as much as it tried, the encryption levels which it afforded meant that in a lot of cases it was not a safe and secure as the initial designs had planned for. Simple software programs were not long in being written which could crack WLAN, without the operator being any kind of expert on the subject. In a matter of hours, undetected, a WEP-encrypted wireless connection could be cracked and hacked into, and the network operator (more often than not a home user) would have no idea their bandwidth was being stolen. Security protocols were taken on further once the true nature of the early WEP flaws had been exposed and concerns rose over. It is important to limit the resources on your network. Once someone has the ability to crack WLAN then they will automatically have the same user rights as your trusted users on legitimate access points have. This means that files are in danger of being copied or deleted, and there is always the risk of malicious programs such as Trojans finding their way on to your systems. The importance of doing all you can to protect your WLAN is clear, and keeping your firewall updated, ensuring your router has the best encryption protocols and constantly monitoring your network for unauthorized access points, will all help to keep you as safe as possible.