Networking

LAN/WAN Topic Center

LAN/WAN news, reviews, analysis and more

Hackers blackmail Belgian bank with threats to publish customer data

Hackers claimed to have breached the systems of the Belgian credit provider Elantis and threatened to publish confidential customer information if the bank does not pay $197,000 before Friday.
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LAN attack can put some Samsung TVs in endless restart loop

A vulnerability in the firmware of several network-enabled Samsung TV models and possibly Blu-ray players allows potential attackers to put the vulnerable devices into an endless restart loop that requires the intervention of a technician to terminate, according to independent security researcher Luigi Auriemma.

Avaya answers Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent with SMB switches

Avaya has unveiled low-end Ethernet switches for small and midsize enterprises and remote branches that include features usually found in higher-end enterprise-class switches.

Most IT, security pros see Anonymous as serious threat

The majority of IT and security professionals believe that Anonymous and hacktivists are among the groups that are most likely to attack their organizations during the next six months, according to the results of a survey sponsored by security vendor Bit9.

School system tweaks its Wi-Fi for better control

Rowan-Salisbury School System is looking to technology from Aerohive Networks for better management of its Wi-Fi network.

The sorry state of federal IPv6 support

U.S. federal government agencies must meet an aggressive deadline of Sept. 30, 2012, to deploy IPv6 on their public-facing websites, under an Obama administration initiative. But with less than five months to go, more than 99% of federal websites aren't supporting the next-gen Internet Protocol on their DNS, email and Web services.

Sophos takes down partner portal after signs of hacking

Security firm Sophos has taken its partner portal offline and will reset every user's password after it found signs of a potential security breach on the server hosting it.

IEEE group to study Gigabit Ethernet cable for cars

Ethernet has gained speed many times, and now it may be about to lose weight.

Reborn LulzSec claims hack of dating site for military personnel

A group of hackers claiming to be the reborn Lulz Security (LulzSec) took credit for an alleged compromise of MilitarySingles.com, a dating website for military personnel, and the leak of over 160,000 account details from its database.

Internet Society celebrates 20 years of standards, advocacy

The Internet Society, a nonprofit that operates the .org registry and funds Internet standards development work, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a gala event in Geneva next month.

Fast-forwarding firewall faceoff

Next-generation firewalls claim to identify application-layer attacks and enforce application-specific policies while delivering top-notch performance, even with advanced security features turned on. Insider (registration required)

Three-stream Wi-Fi hits the mark

The rapid adoption of 802.11n has become a significant milestone in the history of wireless LANs. The MIMO-based technologies used in most 802.11n systems provide enough throughput, reliability, and rate vs. range performance to effectively remove the last major barriers to the broad adoption of WLANs in the enterprise.

Not-so-magic monitor, tiny routers and a kick-ass gaming headset

Shaw reviews MIMO MagicTouch 10-inch touchscreen USB monitor, 150Mbps Wireless N Nano Router, GameCom 780 USB headset.

IPv6: Dual-stack strategy starts at the perimeter

We are in an awkward point in the history of the Internet. IPv4 address depletion has occurred yet we expect to use IPv4 for the next 15 to 20 years. Organizations see two paths to choose between in the years ahead.

2012 Outlook: The end of everything?

Gibbs reviews last year's predictions and sees that the end could be nigh ...

Cisco WAAS shows pizzazz

The latest release of Cisco's WAN optimization product line -- Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) 4.4 -- proves that the company famous for routing packets can also shape, optimize and accelerate them.

How To Lock Down Your Wireless Network

If you operate a wireless network for your home or business, it's important to ward it against opportunistic hackers seeking to steal your data or hijack your Wi-Fi for their own nefarious purposes. We spoke to Steven Andrés, CTO of security consulting firm Special Ops Security, to learn about the best ways to lock down your Wi-Fi. To get started, you'll need to log in to your router's administrative console by typing the router's IP address into your Web browser's address bar. Most routers use a common address like 192.168.1.1, though alternatives like 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.2.1 are also common. Check the manual that came with your router to determine the correct IP address; if you've lost your manual, you can usually find the appropriate IP address on the manufacturer's website.

How to have real risk management

Akamai Technologies CSO Andy Ellis talks about some of the things organizations need to consider in order to better manage risk.

Will the sky fall if you don't deploy IPv6?

Will the world end? Will the Internet grind to a screeching halt? Will your computer systems disintegrate into a pile of bits and bytes? In short, no. At least not yet. But you may want to consider a few things.

High-speed Ethernet planning guide

Ten-gigabit Ethernet was so last year: Standards-based 40- and 100-gigabit Ethernet switches and routers are starting to show up in enterprise networks. Here's what you need to know.