NFC devices can protect Wi-Fi networks
The Wi-Fi Alliance released a list of more than 200 products that have achieved the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval for Wi-Fi Protected Setup. This program, launched in January 2007, helps consumer and small-business users more easily set up Wi-Fi networks with strong security protections.
The organization has also started to test NFC support as an additional Wi-Fi Protected Setup network configuration method. In the NFC method, a user touches a card or token to designated areas on an access point and a client device to connect them. NFC joins two previously-tested mechanisms, push-button and PIN entry, to simplify the process of joining devices to a security-enabled Wi-Fi network.
Like the push-button method, the NFC technique may be useful to connect devices that don’t have a keyboard-oriented user interface, such as cameras, gaming devices, and other consumer electronics. Manufacturers will now have even more flexibility in how to deploy Wi-Fi Protected Setup.
A list of all products Wi-Fi CERTIFIED for protected setup, as well as a free white paper which describes the specification in detail, is available at http://www.wi-fi.org. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/contactlessnews-4.gif)
