HP PCs - HP LAN-Wireless Protection Feature

This document contains information about HP's LAN-Wireless Protection solution, also known as LAN/WLAN Switching.

In order to provide secured access to sensitive data, some IT systems allow access to the secure data only to computing devices connected directly to the corporate LAN network. It is essential that these devices are protected from external, unauthorized access when connected to the corporate LAN network.

An HP computing system may have multiple network-accessible devices embedded inside the system. Common network devices found in HP systems include Ethernet network interface cards (NIC) and WiFi adapters. The HP LAN-Wireless Protection solution is designed to prevent unauthorized users from bridging into your corporate LAN network through a secondary wireless connection.

The HP LAN-Wireless protection turns off the wireless device when a LAN insertion is detected, allowing traffic to flow only through the NIC. The wireless adaptor device will remain off while the LAN connection is maintained. The wireless device state will be restored only after the LAN is disconnected.

HP LAN-Wireless Protection does not switch network traffic routes from WLAN to LAN in order to gain performance or reduce cost (if WLAN is a metered connection). Network traffic routing is typically selected by the host operating system and the network device state is not changed. Therefore, it is possible to route network traffic through the LAN while leaving the wireless connection active and exposed.

Up to Windows 7, this solution was implemented through hardware without any software dependencies. HP BIOS switched the device state through a hardware interface with the wireless network adapter. Since HP BIOS can only detect the presence of a pass through NIC on an external dock, this feature was only supported on a limited set of accessories. Restrictions imposed by subsequent Windows editions, migration to UEFI BIOS, and lack of hardware support on certain wireless network devices necessitated the development of a software based solution. A software based solution also enables the feature to be supported on any attached accessory that included a NIC.

HP LAN-Wireless Protection solution is available on select HP commercial notebook platforms. By default, this feature is disabled. To enable this feature, use the following instructions:

note:

This menu may change when additional features are added.

1. Press F10 to open BIOS.
2. Select Advanced.
3. Click Built-In Device Options.
4. Check the box next to HP LAN-Wireless Protection/LAN/WLAN Auto Switching.