The first edition of this book has quickly become the best-selling guide for Wi-Fi users around the world. Master technical author, Jeff Duntemann, makes tangled Wi-Fi technological issues very comprehensible. Jeff explains the blizzard of Wi-Fi concepts and standards, including the new 802.11g, the complex and fluky security issues, and shows users how to protect themselves from both obvious and non-obvious threats. He also covers the human element in the Wi-Fi movement, including hacker threats and Wi-Fi communities. Jeff's coverage of wardriving has been highly praised by many Wi-Fi experts and the top Wi-Fi Web sites. Many technical drawings clarify difficult concepts, with abundant Web pointers to further information. The book features numerous hands-on projects that can dramatically increase the performance of home and small business Wi-Fi systems. Some of the important and new topics covered in the book include:

• Money-saving Wi-Fi network design and implementation techniques
• Wi-Fi communities
• Access points and gateways
• Security and privacy
• Wireless security auditing with WarLinux and Kismet
• The art of wardriving
• How to create powerful low-cost antennas
• How to protect yourself against clever hackers

Average Customer Review: ( 7 customer reviews )
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If you are interested in how wireless networks actually work as well as how to secure them (at both the hardware and software level) this book is for you. Well done Jeff.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:

One of the best Wi-Fi guides

One of the best Wi-Fi guidesSep 26, 2004
By Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author"
It's a toss-up for me between this book and O'Rielly's "Wi-Fi Hacks" book. Both books have up-to-date, well written content. The Hacks books is organized more aggressively into a set form that may or may not appeal to you. This book has a more traditional topic based organization.

Topics include antenna coverage and construction, operating system information and coverage of the different types of Wi-Fi security that are available.

I recommend this book for anyone serious about building their own Wi-Fi networks. I don't recommend this book, or O'Reilly Hacks, for someone just looking for how to get their computer on a wireless network. For that I would recommend a book specific to their operating system.

10 of 11 found the following review helpful:

The latest WiFi sceneMay 05, 2004
By W Boudville
In 2003, Duntemann came out with the first edition of this book and it was well received. Now, scarcely a year late, he has brought forth the second edition. One could be cynical and say that a second edition is in part to trigger users of the first edition to upgrade, much as some hardware and software vendors might so. But WiFi has been growing rapidly on several fronts. It is a measure of its vitality that in the space of a year, this new edition is indeed useful.

Here are the salient recent developments, as explained by Duntemann. For starters, the IEEE 802.11g is now well defined and a slew of products has become available that support it. So much so that Duntemann recommends that you consider 802.11a products obsoleted by these, in most circumstances. Related to this, he provides an updated assessment of many types of 802.11 hardware.

A common need by some WiFi users who travel is knowledge of public hotspots. A chapter is devoted to this topic, with summaries of major networks like Boingo and T-Mobile. A field in major flux.

Every text on WiFi talks about security. Because when you use wireless, anyone in the vicinity could evesdrop. But this book is slightly unusual in the amount of attention devoted to it. Fully 5 chapters (a quarter of the book) expound on security. The level of this discussion is necessarily technical. But not forbiddingly so. Hopefully, most of you can glean something from this, if you pay attention.

2 of 2 found the following review helpful:

Very Useful BookAug 31, 2005
By T. Gordon
Jeff has put together a extremely useful guide to wireless networking. It is well organized, allowing quick access to specific topics, and broad enough to cover most relevant issues for smaller (and maybe some medium sized) networks. He wisely discusses that which is truly important, avoiding complexity when it is not needed.

There is a considerable amount of practical advice, product information and helpful hints regarding installation, setup and security.

This is not likely very usable for a novice, but would be helpful for anyone who has at minimum a basic understanding of networks.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Best overall Wi-Fi Guide written.....Apr 10, 2007
By T. Proehl "CascadeRambler"
Bold statement, I know, but in my opinion Jeff has done what many have not been able to do in the past; develop a guide that is both easy to follow and very complete. I would not hesitate to recommend this guide to my IT guys as well as someone looking to learn about Wi-Fi that may not even know where to start. Both would find this guide book the most valuable book on their shelf.

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