Wireless Network (802.11) Policies

Built-in support for wireless networks is new for Windows XP and Windows 2003, and each operating system has a Client Side Extension (CSE) to support Group Policy. You'll find Wireless Network policies in Computer Configuration ˜ Windows ˜ Security Settings ˜ Wireless Network (IEEE 802.11) Policies . This category has the most honorable distinction for including the absolute shortest wizard in the history of Microsoft products. Simply right-click " Wireless Network (IEEE 802.11) Policies," and choose " Create Wireless Network Policy " from the shortcut menu to start the wizard. After the introduction screen, you give the policy a name , click Next, and then click Finish! After that, you're ready to edit the policy.

You can set all sorts of wireless parameters for your Windows XP or Windows 2003 computers (though it's unlikely you'll have many Windows 2003 computers with wireless cards). The policy settings themselves are beyond the scope of this book and include options such as WEP, EAP/Smartcard usage, and other scary-sounding wireless settings. However, you can learn about the controllable settings in Chapter 6 of the "Windows Server 2003 Planning Guide." Just search TechNet for "Planning Guide 6 - Designing Wireless LAN Security Using 802.1X."

Note that you need to be connected to the hard-wired network at least one time to get the appropriate certificates for Wireless policy.