what wireless network protocol is fastest?

here's some info you might find useful--since you probably use wireless networks all the time...

Q: what wireless network protocol is fastest?

A: for speed: a wireless router that supports 802.111n with dual band (600mbps theoretical speeds)

Q: should i use a mac address filter?

A: don't bother. its nearly useless. it only adds a layer of security if none of your computers are broadcasting/ connected to your wirless network. so it's useful--but not that useful.

Q: should i use WEP, WPA, or WPA2 for encryption/ security?

A: WPA2 128 bit key is by far the best for security
WEP doesnt actually encrypt your data--its dangerous/ bad/ worthless.

More On Mac Addresses and Filters

as a side note, i learned that a wireless mac address filter (an option in your router configuration--to make your wireless network 'more secure') is mostly useless for protecting your wireless network--unless your computer/laptop is offline/ turned off/ not connected-- the way a hacker gets your mac address, is by sniffing packets--if your computer / laptop are off, they wont be broadcasting their mac address--therefore, a potential hacker wouldn't be able to crack your router during these times.

MAC addresses are sent in the clear, with no encryption--so anyone in range can receive your mac, then spoof your mac address while accessing your network (theres software, like the TMAC mac address changer (available at download.com) that let you change your network card mac address to whatever you want). in other words, a hacker can make your router think packets are coming from an authorized computer (a computer allowed in the mac filter)

setting up a mac address filter is sometimes an annoyance and is not worth it unless you're going for extreme security

WPA2 vs WPA vs WEP

a WPA2-PSK key is the best (wireless protection access 2, personal security key)
WPA is ok--if you have no better choice, and WEP is a joke--its super easy to crack (if you want to know why, i can explain)

The IEEE 801.111n Standard

also, the fastest connection possible is the IEEE 801.111n standard, it uses either 2.4ghz and 5.8ghz radio bands--it can actually use both 2.4ghz and 5.8ghz at once with something called 'dual band' (dual band devices--routers, switches, etc are more expensive--and your NIC card installed on your computer needs to be compatible)--you can actually get over 100mbps network speeds (up to 300mbps possibly if you use MIMO--multiple in/ multiple out, which supports up to 4x antennas broadcasting/ receiving at once).

just to give perspective, my fiber-optics provider gave me 20mbps access-- and my current DSL provider only gives 7mbps access speeds....

just to give perspective a 'hard-wired' cat5 cable supports T100 (100 mbps speeds), and a cat5e cable gives 1000 mbps (theres cat6 too, i think it gives 10,000 mbps, don't quote me on that)

anyway, just as a heads up theres devices with 802.111a, 802.111b, 802.111g, and 802.111n
all you need to know is a,b, and g are crap compared to the 'n' standard

3G Networks

also, 3G wireless networks--are just cellular networks, its pure hype, connection speeds are only about 1.5mbps (snail crawl)--the only benefit is getting a connection wherever you are...

Infrared

Infrared connections are limited to 1 meter and about 4mbps-- they are too slow and limited to be considered for anything other than your tv remote control or for syncing a PDA with a computer.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is only capable of reaching speeds of about 3mbps. It's more for PANs (personal area networks) than for WAN (wide area networks) or LAN (local area networks) scenarios. The idea of a PAN is that you can reduce clutter--- your wireless mouse, keyboard, headset, etc could theoretically use bluetooth to reduce the number of cables making a mess near your computer. If anything, blue tooth is a replacement for Infrared technology (not the 802.111 wireless technologies)