#1 wireless Router
A wireless Router is a device that allows incoming internet connection and sends data as a Radio Frequency to other wireless devices around it. A wireless Router allows the connection of other wireless enabled devices, to gain internet connection without requiring an Ethernet cable. Wireless connections are considered Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN). Some Wireless Routers such as NETGEAR Nighthawk X65 AC4000 TriBand Wi-Fi Router have built-in security features like Firewalls to help protect devices from malicious attack (Hamel, 2019).
Some advantages of implementing a wireless router includes:
Convergence: placing the router is a good place makes connection easy and convenient. The router can be placed in an area where there is high utilization.
Multiple Connections: One of the top advantages is that a wireless router allows multiple devices to connect to it simultaneously. All devices connected to the wireless router will have its own IP Address.
Portability: Wireless routers are portable in nature, as it doesn’t require much connection. the router can be moved and placed in any location in the room.
Easy Internet Access: It is easy to connect to the internet, it only takes one click once the router is connected to the direct wired network (Bhilwara, n.wirlessd)
The down side of using a wireless router is that, it can be 2-20 times slower than a wired network. Wireless network connection on 2.5Ghz frequency, can get high interference from other household devices such as Microwave and cordless phones, because they run on the same frequency. Finally, there is a high change of jamming when using a wireless network.
Hamel, G. (2019). What Are Different Types of Wireless Devices? Retrieved from https://www.techwalla.com/articles/what-are-different-types-of-wireless-devices
Bhilwara. (n.d.). Top Advantages Of Wireless Router. Retrieved from https://mybhilwara.com/blog/top-advantages-of-wireless-router-31.html
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?id=pcat17071&st=router+firewall+wireless
https://www.quora.com/Whttps://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-a-wireless-routerhat-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-a-wireless-router
Thank you for your post. A wireless router is an essential technological device that allows wireless-enabled devices to be connected to the internet without the use of an Ethernet cable. Routers are advantageous because they allow multiple devices to be connected simultaneously. Moreover, they are portable and do not have much installation requirements. Also, wireless routers offer an easy way of connecting to the internet. Despite the numerous advantages, a wireless router can be slower than a wired network. Also, the wireless internet can receive interference from household devices such as microwave.
#2
Wireless technology has evolved a lot in recent years. Many businesses prefer wireless technologies over wired technology. A wireless device is easy to use. One can use a wireless device wherever he or she wants, without worrying to connect with the wires. One of the most common wireless devices that are being used by almost everyone is the smartphone. A smartphone is a wireless device that can perform different functions rather than just texting or calling (Hope, 2019). Using a smartphone, one can (Hope, 2019):
- Browse over the internet.
- Run different applications such as games, social media apps like Facebook, and business-related apps like Evernote.
- Send and receive the email.
- Use GPS for location and navigation.
- Use virtual assistant apps such as Google Assistant.
- Play and record audio, video, and music.
- Capture images.
These are some of the functionalities that a smartphone perform. A smartphone consists of a touch screen that allows the users to make interactions (Hope, 2019). Just like computer systems, a smartphone also has an operating system. The most common operating systems of smartphones are Android and iOS. To store the apps and several data, smartphones use flash memory (Hope, 2019). Smartphones use cellular radio technology that receives signals (Dever, 2016). There are different cells in which the network of the smartphone is divided (Dever, 2016). This is the reason that smartphones are also called cell phone. The smartphones run of computer chips and processors (Dever, 2016). The chips of smartphones allow performing various functions such as sharing images (Dever, 2016).
Smartphones are used everywhere. They are used in the homes as well in the office. Smartphones can provide different benefits to a business. Small businesses use smartphone devices for communicating with their customers. Some of them use smartphones to make a to-do list, and some of them use smartphone devices for other purposes (Webber, 2018). Smartphones allow businesses to share data and useful documents with their employees or customers whenever they want and wherever they are. The benefit of smartphones has helped workers as they do not have to carry bags that contain a high volume of papers (Webber, 2018). Smartphones also help to keep track of the time of every communication that has been done.
While smartphones have several benefits for the business, it can become a great security threat for the business also. Smartphones are lightweight and easy to carry. This is a great benefit, but this also makes smartphones an easy target for someone to snatch or steal. As someone can physically steal the device, the intrusion detection system or any other antivirus software is useless against that person (David, et al., 2017). Once the smartphone is in the wrong hands, the data of the phone can easily be stolen. The data can be sensitive information regarding the business. Hackers can erase some important data. Many mobile ads are used as a weapon to attack the device. Smartphone Trojans can be made possible and are designed to steal the data from smartphones (David, et al., 2017). Mobile Trojans are often sent as an SMS. There is a link in the message, and when the user clicks on the link, the Trojan enters (David, et al., 2017). Moreover, hackers can hack the wireless network, and any other person can hear all of the communications. This threat is typically high for businesses that use Wi-Fi for its communication (David, et al., 2017).
All business needs to take the necessary steps to overcome the security threats. These threats can have a negative impact on the reputation of the business. These threats can lead to the loss of data and even data breaches (David, et al., 2017). These security threats are mainly insider threats. Therefore, policies regarding the use of smartphones should be implemented. Employees should be trained regarding security principles. By taking these necessary steps, a business can secure its network and can become successful.
References
David, O., Rich, Z., Anne, G., David, P., Matt, C., & John, P. (2017, July 12). Mobile Device Security in the Workplace: 5 Key Risks and a Surprising Challenge. Retrieved from edge.siriuscom.com: https://edge.siriuscom.com/security/mobile-device-security-in-the-workplace-5-key-risks-and-a-surprising-challenge
Dever, W. (2016, Dec 2). How do Smartphones Work? Retrieved from sites.psu.edu: https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa16/2016/12/02/how-do-smartphones-work/
Hope, C. (2019, April 2). Smartphone. Retrieved from computerhope.com: https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/smartphone.htm
Introduction to Computer Information. (n.d.). Retrieved from IFSM 310 Course Resources: https://learn.umuc.edu/d2l/le/content/386367/Home
Webber, A. L. (2018, March 12). 4 Ways Smartphones And Tablets Can Benefit Your Business. Retrieved from ceoworld.biz: https://ceoworld.biz/2018/03/12/4-ways-smartphones-and-tablets-can-benefit-your-business/
Thank you for your post. Currently, smartphones are one of the most commonly used wireless devices across the world. A smartphone performs other crucial functions other than sending text messages and calling. The devices have various advantages such as running different applications such as games, sending and receiving emails, using GPS for direction and navigation, and recording and playing both audio and video files. However, smartphone devices face security threats that can lead to loss of data. Trojans and other viruses can be used to steal data from smartphones.
#3
A network switch is a wired piece of technology that connects multiple devices within a LAN (Cisco, n.d.). Switches operate at the second layer of the OSI model. Switches receive data packets from computers, read the MAC address on the packet, and forward the packet to the correct destination. As it is a wired device, it relies on ethernet RJ45 connections generally, with some exceptions. Some switches can also utilize fiber connections. Generally, companies will use a managed switch, which must be programmed to be used, and they are also more secure. These configurations can be set to have the highest possible security, help with controlling access to the network among employees, and load balancing (Sule, Rojas-Cessa, Dong, & Lin, 2018). These tools have a high potential for helping to make a network run at its peak efficiency.
A potential security risk for these is slightly obscure, and it is an exploit that is intended to crack the inherent security that a switch provides. This exploit is referred to as MAC flooding and it involves overloading the switch with numerous packets with many different MAC addresses, including ones that are not directly attached to the switch. After performing MAC flooding on a switch, it will stop forwarding only to the designated locations and instead it will forward all packets to all devices attached to it. Many times this will be done to see all the information that passes through the switch, but it can also be used to knock down a configured security block. By removing the routing protocols, and turning the switch into a basic hub, the VLAN assignments also dissolve, thus allowing anyone to access any and all network drives connected to the device.
References
Cisco (n.d.) “What is a network switch vs a router?”. Retrieved from https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/small-business/resource-center/networking/network-switch-what.html
Sule, O. T., Rojas-Cessa, R., Dong, Z., & Lin, C.-B. (2018). A Split-Central-Buffered Load-Balancing Clos-Network Switch with In-Order Forwarding. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.1109/TNET.2018.2883747
Thank you for your post. A network switch is a crucial wired technological device that allows multiple devices to be connected within a Local Area Network (LAN). Network switches work by receiving data packets from computers, reads the address on the packet, and the forwards the packet to the right destination. The advantage of using switches is that they can be configured to control access to the internet among employees. However, the disadvantage of using switches is that they can be easily overloaded with packets that have different MAC addresses, including ones that are not attached to the switch.