Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Anatropous.

Welcome to Computing.

I'm so pleased that you could come and join us for today's lesson.

Today we're going to be learning about personal networks.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit IT and the world of work.

This lesson is called personal networks, and by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to identify methods of constructing personal networks and the essential skills needed as a remote worker.

We'll be using these keywords throughout the lesson today.

Let's go through them ad hoc network.

Ad hoc network, a network that is created with a temporary device to device connection without the need for a connection to a Wi-Fi access point or router.

PAN.

PAN, personal area network.

Connect nearby personal devices together via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB cables.

This lesson is split to three sections.

The first section recognise methods to create networks.

The second section evaluates ad hoc networks.

And the third section, judge the security of ad hoc networks.

Let's get started.

What would you do? You've taken a very cool photo of your friend and you want to share it with them, but you don't have access to the internet or a mobile network where you are.

How could you solve this problem? Pause the video for a moment and have a think.

Okay, let's think about this a bit further.

You could share the image using Bluetooth.

By connecting your devices via Bluetooth, you can create an ad hoc network.

There are other ways to create an ad hoc network too.

So what is an ad hoc network? Typically, an ad hoc network is a network that is created with a temporary device to device connection without needing to connect to a Wi-Fi access point or router.

Let's check your understanding.

What is an ad hoc network? And network is a network that is created with a device to device without needing to connect to a access point or router.

Okay, can you fill the gaps using the words below, Wi-Fi, temporary, ad hoc connection.

Pause the video and have a go.

Let's see how you've done.

An ad hoc network is a network that is created with a temporary device to device connection without needing to connect to a Wi-Fi access point or router.

Well done.

Did you fill all the gaps correctly? Types of ad hoc network, personal area network, or PAN.

Nearby, personal devices are connected together.

Mice, printers, keyboards, or headphones plus other devices.

PANs typically use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth for a wireless connection.

Types of ad hoc network.

Open Wi-Fi, access to Wi-Fi in public places without a need for a security code or pin.

Open Wi-Fi is often found in public places.

Cafes, parks, train stations on public transport and in airports.

I'm sure you've all used them when you've been on your travels or going around your towns and cities.

So let's check your understanding.

In which of these places would you expect to be able to access open Wi-Fi? Have a think and pause the video.

Okay, which option did you choose? Actually, A, B and C are all places where you'd expect to be able to find open Wi-Fi, in hotels, on trams and trains, on buses.

All of these places now have open Wi-Fi is standard.

Types of ad hoc, network tethering and personal hotspots.

These can connect a device with a network connection to a device without a connection, so for example, if your laptop hasn't got a connection, you could use your mobile phone.

Data is transferred to and from a network through the connected device.

These can be wired or wireless.

By creating an ad hoc network, individuals can access their cloud services, which might include calendars, files to work on, access to project tasks, communication with colleagues and online software.

Okay, let's have a look at task A.

You're going to read the scenarios and then we're going to choose the best type of networks to solve each problem.

Let's have a look at scenario one.

Sofia is at the airport ready to go on holiday, but she can't get her mobile phone to connect to the internet.

Generally, airports cannot have mobile phone mass built close by because of the air traffic control systems. Sofia wants to check whether the hotel she's staying at has a swimming pool.

How can Sofia do this? Okay, think about that.

Pause the video and then we'll come back for some feedback.

Okay, how did you get on? Let's have a look at an example.

Andeep said Sofia could connect to the airports open Wi-Fi to check the hotel's website.

Open Wi-Fi can lack security and she might be at risk from hackers or other online threats.

Browsing might be fine, but I wouldn't suggest she accesses things like her bank account at the airport.

That's a great detailed evaluation from Andeep.

What does yours look like? Have you included the same amount of detail? Let's have a look at the next scenario.

Scenario two, Lucas is at his dad's house for the weekend.

He has forgotten to print out some homework that needs to be submitted on Monday morning.

Lucas's dad says that he can use his new Wi-Fi printer.

Unfortunately, his dad has lost the Wi-Fi password and Lucas's new phone isn't yet connected to the Wi-Fi at his dad's house.

Lucas is starting to panic.

How can he print his homework before Monday? Again, pause the video and have a think about the scenario.

Okay.

How did you get on? Let's have a look at the example.

Andeep said, if the printer has Bluetooth, he can connect to the printer this way.

Lucas compare the phone and printer using Bluetooth and print out his homework even if the Wi-Fi is not working.

If it's not possible, he could use a USB cable to connect his phone.

Another great evaluation from Andeep.

He's noted that you can both connect by a cable or even by using Bluetooth.

How did you do? Our final scenario.

Let's have a look.

Andeep is visiting his new sector of school for the first time.

He wants to show his mom some pictures of the sports hall that are on the school website.

He tries to access this on his phone, but the school is too far away from a mobile phone mask and has thick walls.

Andeep can't get a phone signal.

What could Andeep do to show his mom the website? Again pause the video and consider the scenario.

Okay, how did you do? Let's have a look at the final example.

Laura said, schools have very secure networks to keep the staff and children safe.

Andeep won't be able to connect to the school network without a password.

He could ask if he can show his mum the school website on one of the school devices or wait until he gets home to show her.

Okay.

How did you get on? I'm sure you did really well and put enough detail into those different evaluations.

Well done.

Okay, let's move on to the second section of today's lesson.

Evaluate ad hoc networks.

Let's look at some advantages and disadvantages of ad hoc networks.

Advantages of personal area networks, they're easy to set up.

They're robust, they're scalable, which means additional devices can be added and they're cheap to set up.

They're adaptive devices can join and leave at any point without disrupting the network.

Disadvantages, personal area networks.

Limited bandwidth.

Bandwidth means the amount of data that be can transport it across the network at any one time.

Two, energy constraints such as battery life.

Three, interference from other networks can lead to data loss.

Four, more vulnerable to cyber attacks and they're less secure.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

I want you to give three advantages of a personal area network.

Pause the video and give this some thought.

Okay, how did you get on? Some possible answers could be easy to set up, robust, scalable, cheap to set up, and adaptive, meaning devices can join and leave at any point without disrupting the network.

How did you do? Okay, let's have a look at the advantage of open Wi-Fi.

It's free to connect and it's also useful in an emergency when you have no connection of your own.

The disadvantages of open Wi-Fi are it can be easily hacked.

Personal data can be easily accessed.

It lacks reliability.

Lots of people are using it at the same time, so it can have slow connectivity and it's low speed for its data access.

Now I want you to check your understanding and give three disadvantages of open Wi-Fi.

Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, how did you do? Possible answers could be easily accessed by hackers.

Personal data easily accessed, lacks reliability, because lots of people are using it will slow the connectivity.

Low speed for data access.

How did you get on? Now I'm going to look at the advantages of tethering and personal hotspots.

You can use Wi-Fi anywhere, anytime.

It's cheaper as you only need to purchase one data package to use across devices.

You can connect multiple devices, and you're using a cable you can share your mobile internet connection with your laptop.

Okay, now let's look at disadvantages of tethering personal hotspots.

Slower than home connections, can drain the battery.

It's not really free.

You still have to purchase a data package and they may not be safe.

Okay, now moving on to task B.

I want you to explain what is meant by an ad hoc network.

I want you to evaluate the benefits of an ad hoc network and evaluate the risks associated with an ad hoc network.

I want you to pause the video and give the task in consideration and write your evaluation.

We'll come back together for some feedback.

Okay, how did you get on? Let's have a look at some examples.

Laura said, an ad hoc network is one that you generally only use for a short period of time.

It's a temporary network that you can use to connect your devices or access the internet.

I like the fact that they're free for me to use as I pay for my data package anyway.

Unfortunately, they're not very secure, so you're more likely to get hacked.

The connection can also be quite slow compared to my laptop at home.

That's sometimes frustrating.

How did you get on with your evaluation? Have you noticed here that Laura's been able to identify an advantage and a disadvantage, and then she's also talked about the limitations and the risks? Okay, I'm now going to move on to the third section of our lesson today.

Judge, the security of ad hoc networks.

Let's get started.

As most ad hoc networks are wireless, temporary and do not require a password to connect, they can be open to security risks, security risks in ad hoc networks.

When using an ad hoc network, the security risks could include eave dropping.

This is where communications are intercepted.

Spoofing, this is impersonating others for malicious purposes.

DoS attacks ,denial of service, which is bombarding a target with traffic.

One way to reduce the security risks when using an ad hoc network is to use a virtual private network or VPN.

A virtual private network or VPN will route your data traffic by a virtual server.

This will hide your data from potential hackers.

There are many apps that provide VPN services.

A good VPN will encrypt your data so that only devices with the decryption key i.

e.

those in your ad hoc network are able to access it.

Let's check your understanding.

You're going to fill in the gaps to complete the sentences.

A VPN will route your data traffic via a server.

This will your data from potential hackers.

There are many that provide VPN services.

A good VPN will your data so that only devices with the key i.

e.

those in your ad hoc network are able to access it.

Choose from the five words below and fill the gaps.

Decryption, apps, hide, virtual, encrypt.

Pause the video and have a go at the activity.

Okay, let's see how you did.

A VPN will route your data traffic via a virtual server.

This will hide your data from potential hackers.

There are many apps that provide VPN services.

A good VPN will encrypt your data so that only devices with the decryption key i.

e, those in your ad hoc network are able to access it.

Well done.

I hope you completed all of the gaps successfully.

Okay, now we're going to match the term to its function.

Here's the term, VPN, spoofing, DoS attack, eave dropping and the functions are, impersonating others for malicious purposes.

Hide your data from potential hackers.

Communications are intercepted, and bombarding a target with traffic.

Okay, have a go at the activity.

Pause the video.

Okay, let's see if you've matched them up correctly.

VPN, VPN hides your data from potential hackers.

Spoofing, spoofing, impersonating others for malicious purposes.

DoS attack, DoS attack, bombarding a target with traffic.

Eavesdropping, eavesdropping communications are intercepted.

How did you do? Did you manage to match them all together? Well done.

Okay, let's move on to task C.

We're going to read the scenarios on the following slides and then you're going to think about what advice you would give to each person on using an ad hoc network.

Reference the security of the ad hoc network in your answers.

Let's have a look at scenario one.

Mia is a style vlogger and often enjoys editing her videos and uploading them in a coffee shop.

Her laptop is Wi-Fi enabled, but she does not want to use the open connection in the coffee shop.

She also works on and sends a transcript of her video to the company she vlogs for and is worried that some of her personal data might be stolen.

Identify the benefits of an ad hoc network in this scenario as well as the potential risks and how to prevent them.

Pause the video and have a go at the task.

Okay, how did you do? Let's have a look at an example.

Here's some advice for Mia.

Sofia said, Mia can create an ad hoc network using her mobile phones 4G data connected to her laptop either wirelessly or by using a USB cable.

Tether her laptop can then access remote software if needed or cloud services.

She should use a VPN to protect her personal data and the work she's doing.

She'll have fewer issues with bandwidth if she uses a VPN and she'll be only the one using the bandwidth, so data transfer won't be slowed down too much.

That's some great advice from Sofia.

How does this compare to your example? Have you concluded enough detail? If not, maybe go back over some of the content from this lesson.

Let's have a look at the next scenario.

Scenario two.

Joe is a freelance journalist who frequently spends time away from home and stays in hotels overnight.

He writes and submits his stories online to local and national newspapers.

He uses a laptop for this, but often makes notes on a tablet device.

How can Joe benefit from using an ad hoc network for his job? Pause the video and think about the scenario and we'll come back for some feedback in a moment.

Okay, let's have a look at the example.

Here's some advice for Joe.

Sofia said, if Joe is staying in a hotel, he should be able to access the hotel's open Wi-Fi, which usually requires a password, so it has a little more protection than a free to use open Wi-Fi signal.

He would benefit from using a VPN to prevent hacking.

He could tether his tablet device to his laptop and transfer his notes across.

He would've similar benefits to Mia, the main difference being his access to the hotel's Wi-Fi connection.

Another great response from Sofia.

How does that compare to your own? Well done to have a good go at task C and coming up with advice for the two scenarios.

We have come to the end of today's lesson and you've done fantastic job, so well done.

Let's have a look at what we've learned today.

There are different ways to create ad hoc networks, including personal area networks, open Wi-Fi, and tethering.

Ad hoc networks can be helpful in connecting devices and accessing the internet temporarily.

Ad hoc networks are generally less secure than more traditional networks, so it's important to be aware of the risks associated with ad hoc networks before you join one.

Thank you for joining today's lesson.

I hope you've enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing you next time.