Klund -
Here is a breakdown on the terms used in this thread (and some others you might see regarding WiFi):
802.11 = WiFi. Like most engineers are wont to do, the folks that created wireless networking gave it a really catchy name...802.11. This is the number of the "standard" document that was created to ensure that everyone creating wireless network gear set their systems up to "speak the same language." Without a standard, you would have situations like Linksys products not being able to speak with Dlink products, etc. Thankfully, some marketing person somewhere realized that very few things should go through life with a number as a name and hence the term WiFi was born.
AP = access point. Think of access points as being the wireless equivalent of the wall jack that you would plug your computer into for network access. APs are typically wired to a network (a local network and/or an Internet connection) and broadcast a signal that can be received by devices that have a WiFi network card.
NIC = network interface card. This is the actual device that connects to your computer and communicates with the network. In a WiFi network, you will have a "wireless NIC" that will connect to the AP.
IP = Internet Protocol, typically used in the context of an "IP address." Every device that connects to the Internet needs to have a unique IP address that identifies it on the network. These addresses look something like 192.168.0.1. Typically, you do not have to worry about knowing what your IP address is because it is assigned automatically by a DHCP server at your company or home Internet service provider. Unfortunately, once you start fooling around with networks you will realize that they are far from foolproof and one of the very first steps in trying to figure out why your network connection might not be working is to figure out what the IP address is on your machine vs. what it needs to be.
SSID = Service Set Identifier. Think of this as being the "name" of the wireless network you are trying to talk to. Just like it is easier to have a meaningful conversation with someone if you know their name, the same is true when your computer is trying to talk to a network.
WEP = Wired Equivalent Privacy. This is a way of encrypting traffic between wireless devices so that other people can't eavesdrop or break into the wireless network. There are varying strengths of encryption, 64-bit, 128-bit, etc. that (in theory) are harder to break the higher the number of bits. The number refers to the length of the key, or password, that is used to encode the traffic. Virtually no network is impenetrable and there are ways for hackers to break WEP. This shouldn't concern most home users however since the majority of people don't bother to secure their networks at all. Why would someone break a sweat trying to get into your network if there are 10 wide open ones right down the road.
Sniffer = a piece of software that "sniffs" at the air and tries to detect the presence of wireless networks. Some people use sniffers in a practice called "War driving" where they roam around in a car or on foot looking for wireless networks. In general, you need to know the SSID and the WEP key of a secure network before you can connect to it. This information is input into the settings of the WiFi network card on your computer. If you do not change the SSID from the default on your AP, and if you do not enable WEP between your AP and your computers, then it is very easy for people that are "war driving" to take advantage of your network...either for the potentially benign purpose of using your internet connection for free or, perhaps, with significantly more nefarious intent.
MAC address = Media Access Control address. Every network device has a unique ID number that is associated with it at the time it is created, just like most people in the US have a unique social security number. The phrase "MAC address filtering" refers to the ability of a network to be secured in a such a fashion where only specified network cards can access its resources. If someone else were to try to access the network they would be unable to until the MAC address of their network card was added to the system by the administrator.
If you have a wireless network at home, the best combination of ease of setup and "reasonably safe" security is to change your SSID from the default, configure your AP so it does not "broadcast" its SSID to sniffers, enable 128-bit WEP, and setup MAC address filtering. The steps to do this vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but in general are fairly straightforward if you read the manuals and do your research on sites like
www.practicallynetworked.com
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