Intel, Microsoft Vista promise Wi-Fi Simple Config

The problems, according to Wintel, are that many protocols define how data is secured but don't tell you how to configure security properly.

And wireless network security setup is too complicated for plebs, with around 30 per cent of WAP users setting security up.

There's also a high retail return rate of WAPs, and worse than this, hacks forced to work in a shared area at the Argent Hotel last week, noticed that one Intel WLAN had a shared drive with many folders although none of us peeked inside.

While Intel and MS believe there are many answers to this problem of network security including Windows Connect Now, Intel Smart Wireless Solutions and Broadcom Secure EZ Setup, they don't interoperate.

Then there's other wireless groups like Bluetooth, Wireless USB, WiMAX, and DNLA, all of which have different set ups.

So when Microsoft introduces Vista it will team with Intel, Philips, Sony, Atheros and others to provide WPA-Personal for home wireless LANs. To ease the angst of home users, a working group will study how to set up a secure WLAN which makes it easy to add and remove members from the network.

When a wi-fi network is set up, there will be four stages: discovering a new access point; transferring a pin using an out of band channel; a registration protocol; and new AP settings sent encrypted over the network.

Windows Vista, formerly known as Longhorn, will provide Connect Now 2.0, which lets you transfer settings over Ethernet (out of band) and Wi-Fi (in band), and will let you configure a device using plug and play. Once a wiz takes you through setup, you will have the opportunity to save your settings on a USB flash drive and the like.

Intel and Microsoft believe that the same principle can be applied to other wireless technologies. It wants developers to seize the opportunity. µ