Evil spirits in WLAN

If the administrator knows the four most malicious Wi-Fi offenders, he can combat them safely - with modern technology. Four tips from the provider Xirrus.

1. the wi-fi vampire

The Wi-Fi vampire likes to suck unprotected Wi-Fi networks dry. Wi-Fi vampires appear out of nowhere, suck up the entire bandwidth and bring the entire network to its knees. The result: anemic video and voice streams.

Features: These undead are diurnal and nocturnal, managing to suck the soul out of any Wi-Fi network, turning access points into useless plastic shells. Once these malicious creatures take possession of a network, you are doomed to walk in a slow Internet forever.

Effective protection: Access control - Wi-Fi vampires shun networks like holy water when they are managed with intelligent network management. Wi-Fi networks should be managed in such a way that data traffic in them can be classified and prioritized. This allows Wi-Fi vampires to tap only as much bandwidth as their toothless apps are allowed - and they don't suck the entire network dry.

2. the wifi ghoul

Wi-Fi ghouls live in hiding and love to disrupt the performance of Wi-Fi networks. Their destructive effect only comes to light after a longer period of time, when performance and capacity become tight. The effect of Wi-Fi ghuls on networks quickly grows larger and can bring down entire networks with their interference.

Features: Wi-Fi ghouls love to jam Wi-Fi signals and thus attack the performance of the network. Wifi ghuls are loners but very common: They hide almost everywhere: in phones, tablets, watches, baby monitors, microwaves and new LTE services.

Effective protection: Anapaptable Wi-Fi - since Wi-Fi ghuls lurk everywhere, you can only keep their damage to a minimum. You should focus on 5 GHz, because many wifi ghuls prefer 2.4 GHz. The use of channels and power settings should also be carefully considered. It's spooky how often this is forgotten!

3. wi-fi zombies

Hordes of undead that randomly appear and like nothing better than to feast on innocent Wi-Fi networks. Their sheer numbers are overwhelming for any network and quickly push it to the edge of its capacity.

Features: Wi-Fi zombies are absolutely deadly in larger groups. They congregate in hordes of marauding data suckers in larger public places, such as sports arenas, airports, train stations, or university lecture halls, and use their combined forces to network and slow down all other devices.

Effective protectionHigh Density Wi-Fi - Protect your network by providing enough bandwidth - even in crowded public places. Vendors say their access points can handle 'hundreds' of these Wi-Fi zombies. The magic word is "effective." Effectively means hundreds of sophisticated Wi-Fi zombies can not only network, but also upload and download high-resolution data. Thus, Wi-Fi zombies completely cripple their network.

4. dr. jekyll and mr. hyde

Internet access was something like our best friend. Until he succumbed to a deadly, addictive potion that turned him into a monster. How can Dr. Jekyll, who was supposed to help us master our entire digital lives, suddenly turn into Mr. Hyde and leave a trail of devastation in his wake?

Features: Ubiquitous access to email, social networks, and numerous online services makes us victims for Mr. Hyde, who targets Internet addicts. We constantly seek out public Wi-Fi networks with dubious management and security settings. Once connected, our beloved Wi-Fi devices, can fall into the hands of hackers and malware that turn them into monstrous creatures.

Effective protection: Secure Personal Network - Use a secure Wi-Fi connection whenever possible. If only unsecured is available, be aware of what attachments you are downloading and what personal data you are accessing with this unsecured Wi-Fi.

Only those who know the four monsters can fight them so that the WLAN works.