Monitoring for unauthorized clients on a wireless local-area network can be like looking for an enemy in a sandstorm. You know someone is out there, just not where or how many.

In comes AirDefense Inc.'s AirDefense Guard wireless intrusion-detection system to offer a clearer view of activity on your wireless network. As with any intrusion-detection system, AirDefense's primary focus is to notify staffers of possible security breaches to a LAN. But what AirDefense does differently is focus exclusively on what's happening on the wireless side of the network.

I tested AirDefense Guard at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and in my Silicon Valley lab. The intrusion-detection system did well finding my authorized clients, access points and quite a number of unauthorized devices. I also conducted several intrusive tests including Service Set Identifier, man-in-the-middle and denial-of- service attacks, all of which AirDefense correctly detected and notified me of their occurrence.

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