A firewall is a protective barrier that prevents unwanted access to or from your company network. The firewall scans all traffic passing in and out of your network and blocks unauthorized messages, intruders and viruses. Firewalls can be either hardware appliances or software applications. In a wireless network, a hardware firewall is typically installed in the network's access point (most often, the router). In fact, the leading routers on the market come with a hardware firewall already built in. Meanwhile, software firewalls are often built into the market's top security software suites. The bottom line? Using a high quality router along with top security software will ensure your network has the appropriate level of security and flexibility.

Data is most vulnerable to theft when it it's in transmission. As a protection against theft, data can be encrypted - scrambled in such a way that it's worthless to any unauthorized person who accesses it. If your company conducts transactions with customers over the Internet or other public network and/or your home office communicates with employees out in the field over a public network, you will need a "secure server." A secure server will enable you to encrypt communications from the server to your customers' and or field team's computers and accept encrypted information back from them. If you already have a server, you can make it secure by installing strong encryption software on it. If you're in the market for a server, you should seek out those that feature encryption adapters.

Wireless security protocols

With Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering technology, you can control access to your company's network on the network's gateway, which in most cases is a router. It serves as a security layer that provides computers with a unique address on a 802.11 network and often comes standard with the router. With MAC address filtering, the network will only recognize - and allow access to - users with an approved MAC address, a code that's unique to every mobile wireless card installed inside a desktop, laptop or other wireless device. If your router/access point doesn't recognize the device's MAC address, then the person using that device can't get into your network.

On its own, MAC address filtering is more than capable of keeping unwanted outsiders from gaining access to your network. By combining MAC address filtering with Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), another protocol built into most routers, you can further increase your network's security. In fact, the newly developed WPA protocol, which is standard equipment on all Dell wireless devices, features:

• Strong encryption to ensure secure transmissions over network
• Password protection to keep out unauthorized users Packet integrity to ensure wireless transmissions haven't been tampered with

With WPA, you protect the company network by creating a unique passcode (passcodes can range from eight to 63 characters, usually a mix of letters and numbers.) You establish this passcode into the network by running the software that came with your network's gateway (usually a router) and calling up the WPA configuration page. On the WPA configuration page, you enter the unique passcode into the gateway's configuration. After the passcode is configured into your network gateway, users can only access the network by entering the same code in the wireless card settings on their laptops, desktops or other portable devices. In other words, only people whose wireless devices have the same exact passcode as your network's gateway can enter your company network.

Virtual private networks and VPN tunneling

Most large corporations maintain their own private network systems, with designated wide area network (WAN) links and other exclusive technology that connects their employees at headquarters with those out on the road. These private networks are generally very secure. And they're generally way too expensive for the average small business.

So how can you level the playing field? Adopting a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is one cost-effective solution for you and your employees to securely connect with your company's internal network via an Internet connection.

Because VPNs rely on public or shared networks, concerns about their security are not uncommon. But with the right combination of security measures, a VPN can be protected from even the most determined intruder.

That combination should include tunneling and encryption. Tunneling allows the two ends of your network - the network gateway or router being one end and your employee's notebooks, PDAs and other wireless devices being the other end - to communicate across the Internet securely. Because the Internet and your network speak different languages, tunneling packages or "translates" the information that you or your employees send in a way that the Internet can understand.

When you or an employee makes a VPN connection, software contacts the network gateway and asks for a password to verify that you or the employee is an approved user of the network. Then the VPN software creates the tunnel in which your data is sent back and forth across the network. Encryption makes the information private, scrambling the data so that only those who have the right digital key can decode it.

Physical security - keeping your wireless devices safe

When it comes to security issues, the integrity of the network is what first comes to mind for most small business owners. But it's also important to consider the physical security of your wireless devices, especially if your employees spend most of their time outside of the office. Physical security includes cable locks, asset tagging and recovery services that will immediately notify you when a stolen or missing wireless device is connected with the Internet.

Wireless security enhances business productivity

A secure, wireless network can be a powerful tool for small businesses. It's a fact that companies and employees are more productive when they have better and faster access to information, and - with the right combination of security measures - that's exactly what your wireless network can do for you.