These days, all communication technology faces the issue of privacy and identity theft, with Bluetooth being no exception. Almost everyone knows that email services and networks require security. What users of Bluetooth need to realize is that Bluetooth also requires security measures as well.

The good news for Bluetooth users is that the security scares, like most scares, are normally over dramatized and blown entirely out of proportion. The truth being told, these issues are easy to manage, with various measures already in place to provide security for Bluetooth technology.

It’s true that there has been some Bluetooth phones that have been hacked into. Most devices that are hacked into are normally those that don’t have any type of security at all.

According to Bluetooth specialists, in order to hack into a Bluetooth device, the hacker must:
1. Force two paired devices to break their connection.
2. Steal the packets that are used to resend the pin.
3. Decode the pin.

Of course, the hacker must also be within range of the device, and using very expensive developer type equipment. Most specialists recommend that you have a longer pin, with 8 digits being recommended.

Fundamentals of security
The “pairing process” is one of the most basic levels of security for Bluetooth devices. Pairing, is two or more Bluetooth devices that recognize each other by the profiles they share – in most cases they both must enter the same pin.

The core specifications for Bluetooth use an encryption algorithm, which is completely and entirely secure. Once the devices pair with each other, they too become entirely secure.

Until they have successfully paired, the Bluetooth devices won’t communicate with each other. Due to this pairing process and the fact that it is short range – Bluetooth technology is considered to be secure.

As the news has indicated, experienced hackers have developed ways to get around this level of basic security. There are ways to get around this threat, as you can install software to prevent hackers from getting in.

With Bluetooth becoming more and more popular, it’s really no wonder that security is always in question. As Bluetooth gets bigger and better, security will always be something that no one really takes lightly.

If you’ve been concerned about Bluetooth security in the past, rest assured that newer devices will offer bigger and better security. Preventing hackers from getting in is something every owner is concerned about – and the manufacturer’s are very aware.

The profile found in Bluetooth will describe how the technology is used.  Profiles can be best described as vertical slices through the protocol stack.  It will define options in each protocol that are mandatory for the profile.

The profile will also define the parameter ranges for each protocol.  The concept of the profile is used to decrease the risk of interoperability problems between the different products.  These profiles won’t normally define any additions to the Bluetooth specification, which is why you can add new profiles where you need them.  The  Bluetooth underlying technology is the same, only the specific method that it’s used is defined.

Generally speaking, all profiles of Bluetooth are based on the GAP (Generic Access Profile).  There are 9 profiles that fall in the GAP category, and they are below:
1.  AVRCP – Audio/Video Remote Control
Profile
2.  ESDP – Extended Service Discovery Profile
3.  CIP – Common ISDN Access Profile
4.  PAN – Public Area Network Profile
5.  HCRP – Hardcopy Cable Replacement
Profile
6.  GAVDP – Generic Audio/Visual Distribution Profile
7.  A2DP – Advanced Audio Distribution Profile
8.  VDP – Video Distribution Profile
9.  HID – Human Interface Device Profile

To put it another way, usage models will describe Bluetooth device applications and the associated profiles that are used.  The usage model focuses mainly on three categories – voice/data access points, peripheral interconnects, and PAN (Personal Area Networking).

The voice and data access points involve connecting
computing devices to communicating devices through a wireless link. This way, data can be transferred in a wireless manor, without the need of cables or other types of connectivity.

PAN  is another very important usage model with strong appeal to business customers.  Bluetooth networks are easy to set up in virtually any type of environment.  An example would be meeting others at a trade show. Instead of having contact information beamed via infrared, business cards can quickly and easily be transferred via Bluetooth wireless.  The fact is that many documents can be exchanged this very same way – making the uses and possibilities virtually endless.

The Bluetooth profile is very important to the specification, as it enables you to do so much more.  You can use peripherals and devices with the profiles, and virtually anything else that you decide.

As Bluetooth expands and gets bigger and better, you can count on the profiles to expand and get even more functions.  If you have experience with Bluetooth profiles, you should know exactly what they are and what you can do with them.  If not, all you need is a Bluetooth device – and a vivid imagination.

The networking standards of Bluetooth will transmit data via low power radio frequency.  Bluetooth communicates on a 2.45 GHz frequency.  This very band of frequency has been set aside by international agreement for the use of industrial and medical devices.

Many devices that you already known and use take advantage of this frequency band.  Garage door openers, baby monitors, and the next generation of mobile phones all use this frequency within the ISM band.  Ensuring that Bluetooth and the other devices don’t interfere with each other is a crucial part of the design process.

One of the ways Bluetooth will avoid interfering with other electronic devices is by sending out weak signals of around 1 mw.  In comparison, even the most powerful of cell phones can transmit a signal of 3 watts.

The low power signals will limit the range of a Bluetooth device to around 32 feet, which cut the chances of interference between your computer and other electronic devices.  Even though it has low power, Bluetooth doesn’t require a line of sight between the communicating devices.  The walls in your home won’t stop the signal, making it great for rooms throughout the house.

Bluetooth can connect 8 devices at the same time. With each of those devices on the same radius, you may think they would interfere with each other, although it’s very unlikely.  Bluetooth utilizes a technique known as low frequency
hopping, which makes it harder for more than one device to transmit on the same frequency at the same time.

With this technique, a device will use 79 individual, randomly chosen frequencies within a designated range, which change from one another on a regular basis.

In the case of Bluetooth, the transmitters will change frequency 1,600 times or more every second, meaning that more devices can make full use of the radio spectrum.  Since every transmitter of Bluetooth will use spread spectrum
automatically, it’s very unlikely that two transmitters will be on the same frequency at the exact same time.

When the Bluetooth devices come within close range of each other, an electronic conversation will occur to determine whether or not they have data to share or whether one needs to take total control.  The user doesn’t have any buttons to press or commands to give – as the conversation will occur automatically.

Once the conversation has occured, the devices will form a network.  Bluetooth devices will create a PAN (Personal Area Network) or piconet that may fill a room.  Once the piconet has been established, the devices will randomly hop in frequencies.

In the United States, Bluetooth gets absolutely no respect. It is however, becoming more and more common in notebooks, PDAs, and especially cell phones. Bluetooth will provide wireless users a way to transmit small amounts of data over short distances.

Now, Bluetooth is facing stiff competition from new wireless technology. Referred to as UWB or Ultra Wideband, it promises data transfer of up to 480 MB a second – while most current Bluetooth devices transfer data up to 721 KB a second.

For the time being, Bluetooth devices are surely cropping up. Below, we will look at some of the accessories offered with Bluetooth technology.

Talking to the dashboard
When pairing it with a cell phone, the CCM Blue Warrior car kit becomes a great speaker phone that plugs into the power adapter of your vehicle. The noise cancelling microphone will reduce background
noise efficiently, with the large buttons making adjusting the speaker volume a snap. Although the Blue Warrior is far from sexy or sleek, it’s very practical.

Tiny tuning box
Part MP3 player and part hands free phone, the compact and lightweight Sony HBM-30 is an attractive gadget that lets you accept calls with minimal interruption of your tunes. When you get an incoming
call it will automatically pause your music, then you speak into the built in microphone that you can wear around your neck or clip to your clothes.

The pen
With Nokia’s SU-1B digital pen, you can doodle and make hand written notes in ink on a special pad then transmit them from the pad to your Bluetooth phone. Being an alternative to typing on a cell phone keypad, the pen is very handy, although a pricey tool from MMS fans.

Snapshots
If you want to make slide shows with your camera photos, the Nokia SU-2 image viewer will let you disply your pictures on a TV or projector. Simply hook this square gray device to your TV’s input with the built in cable, then beam the pictures to the SU-2 from your Bluetooth enabled phone and the photo fest will begin.

This device is a snap to set up and use, although it displays resolutions of up to 640 by 480. If you have a newer phone that takes high resolution photos, you won’t be able to use the Nokia SU-2 image viewer.

Keep in mind, the 640 by 480 pixel photos will appear blocky on TV screens, no matter what you do. If your phone can send batches of photos, you can create a slide show – although Nokia claims you can use sequentially beamed shots as well.

Below, you’ll find a list of the most used terms in Bluetooth technology. They can serve as a look up,
or to help you learn more about Bluetooth terms in general.

2 in 1 handset
The situation where a subscriber’s handset is acting as a remote handset to a base unit that provides a network connection.

3G
Third generation, referring to the next generation of digital phone technology.

802.11 WLAN
A wireless LAN specification defined by the IEEE.

Access code
Each base band packet will start with an access code,which can be one of 3 types – CAC, DAC, and IAC.

ACK
Acknowledge.

ACL
Asynchronous Connectionless Link. This is one of the two types of data links that are defined for Bluetooth.

ACO
Authenticated Ciphering Offset.

Active mode
During the active mode, the unit will actively participate on the channel. The master will schedule the transmission based on traffic demands from the different slaves.

AP
Access point.

Authentification
The process of verifying who is at the opposite end of the link.

Authentification device
A device whose identity has been verified during the lifetime of the current link based on the authentification procedure.

Baseband
This describes the specification of the digital signal processing aspect of the hardware – the controller – which carries out the baseband protocols.

BB
Abreviation of baseband.

BD
Bluetooth device.

BER
Bit Error Rate.

The above is more of an intro to the terms that are used with Bluetooth. Bluetooth currently has hundreds
of devices, making it the best wireless solution in the world. With more coming out every day, you can
bet that Bluetooth will be around for many years to come.

If you are new to Bluetooth, the terms used can be very helpful. There are hundreds of glossary terms
that apply to Bluetooth, many of which describe shortcuts to common terms. You can learn a lot by
reading over the meanings, especially if you have never used Bluetooth technology before.

Those of you who have experience with Bluetooth, can look over the glossary of terms to brush up on your knowledge or just check out what an unfamiliar term actually means. Nothing is complicated with the meanings, although they make take some getting used to.

Once you have been around Bluetooth for a while, you’ll find yourself right at home with the terms and meanings to the technology. All you need to do is play around with it, and read books or manuals whenever you get the chance. Before you know it, you’ll be a professional in the vast world of Bluetooth wireless.