AirPatrol plans interference-detection tool

AirPatrol, a developer of wireless security technology, will in January launch an interference-detection tool for WiFi networks. It said this will become a critical function within enterprises as the more high-speed 802.11n technology rolls out.

Interference locationing is going to be a fundamental part of every wireless network in the future as 11n gets rolled out and replaces wires to the desktop, said Nick Miller, CEO of the Palo Alto, California-based company.

AirPatrol was founded in 2005 as the vehicle to take forward a number of intellectual property assets acquired from Cirond, another company run by Miller which was sold off and exited the wireless space at the time.

AirPatrol's portfolio comprises: the Wireless Management and Security (WMS) platform, which does locationing based on signal strength and is software delivered in dedicated sensors; AirSafe, which is a laptop client that shuts off wireless connections whenever the device is on a wired connection, in order to avoid it unwittingly becoming a bridge for security exploits, andMobile Site Survey (MSS) 500, which carries out site surveys for security purposes.

Miller said the company is also planning Wireless Policy Management, a product comprising a laptop client and admin console to define required levels of security and enforce policies. He said these include launching a VPN and turning on an endpoint firewall, as well as a change in the network name when the user is out of the office and on a wireless network to avoid hackers finding the device simply by searching on the Linksys or Belkin name, for instance.

After that will come the interference locationing product, which will be a retuned version of something the company already offers in the cellular market, called the AirPatrol Cell Sensor System. This is a product we ship into intelligence agencies to detect radio frequency interference and we'll retune it from the 1.8/1.9GHz cellular bands for 2.4GHz to address WiFi, said Miller. It will detect interference from devices with Bluetooth, cordless phones and microwave ovens. In time I expect to see it built into every WiFi access point.

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