<P> "Malicious associations" are when wireless devices can be actively made by attackers to connect to a company network through their laptop instead of a company access point (AP). These types of laptops are known as "soft APs" and are created when a cyber criminal runs some software that makes his / her wireless network card look like a legitimate access point . Once the thief has gained access, he / she can steal passwords, launch attacks on the wired network, or plant trojans . Since wireless networks operate at the Layer 2 level, Layer 3 protections such as network authentication and virtual private networks (VPNs) offer no barrier . Wireless 802.1 X authentications do help with some protection but are still vulnerable to hacking . The idea behind this type of attack may not be to break into a VPN or other security measures . Most likely the criminal is just trying to take over the client at the Layer 2 level . </P> <P> Ad hoc networks can pose a security threat . Ad hoc networks are defined as (peer to peer) networks between wireless computers that do not have an access point in between them . While these types of networks usually have little protection, encryption methods can be used to provide security . </P> <P> The security hole provided by Ad hoc networking is not the Ad hoc network itself but the bridge it provides into other networks, usually in the corporate environment, and the unfortunate default settings in most versions of Microsoft Windows to have this feature turned on unless explicitly disabled . Thus the user may not even know they have an unsecured Ad hoc network in operation on their computer . If they are also using a wired or wireless infrastructure network at the same time, they are providing a bridge to the secured organizational network through the unsecured Ad hoc connection . Bridging is in two forms . A direct bridge, which requires the user actually configure a bridge between the two connections and is thus unlikely to be initiated unless explicitly desired, and an indirect bridge which is the shared resources on the user computer . The indirect bridge may expose private data that is shared from the user's computer to LAN connections, such as shared folders or private Network Attached Storage, making no distinction between authenticated or private connections and unauthenticated Ad - Hoc networks . This presents no threats not already familiar to open / public or unsecured wifi access points, but firewall rules may be circumvented in the case of poorly configured operating systems or local settings . </P> <P> Non-traditional networks such as personal network Bluetooth devices are not safe from hacking and should be regarded as a security risk . Even barcode readers, handheld PDAs, and wireless printers and copiers should be secured . These non-traditional networks can be easily overlooked by IT personnel who have narrowly focused on laptops and access points . </P>

List the importance of a ssid channel and security setup for a wireless access point