International Journal of Wireless & Mobile Networks (IJWMN), Vol.14, No.4, August 2022 DOI:10.5121/ijwmn.2022.14403 27 PROTOTYPING A SERIAL NUMBER BASED AUTHENTICATION MODEL FOR A COMPUTER IN A WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK John C. Chebor, Simon M. Karume, Nelson B. Masese and Andrew Kipkebut Kabarak University, School of Science, Engineering and Technology, Nakuru, Kenya ABSTRACT With the increase of wireless LAN usage in homes and enterprises due to its numerous benefits, authenticating the ever increasing number of devices and their users has become a challenge to proprietors of such kind networks. A MAC address, a physical network address that is used as basis for this study, has a copy of its value in the system software that can be spoofed and altered rendering the address not unique, not secure and unreliable. On the contrary, a computer’s serial number is h ard-coded in the system hardware only and therefore cannot be spoofed and altered making it unique, secure and reliable. The research, therefore, was aimed at designing a model that demonstrates how a computer’s serial number can be used for authenticating a computer in a wireless local area network. In order to achieve the research objective, the study examined the inbuilt access and use of a computer’s serial number prototype model as an alternative method of authenticating devices in a network. Design science research methodology that involved design and development, demonstration and model evaluation was employed. A Serial Number Based Authentication prototype (SNAP) was therefore designed using state chart and flow chart diagrams based on dynamic programming, developed over evolutionary prototyping and test run on a static experimental design using Java Development Kit and MySQL platforms to demonstrate, as proof of concept, that a computer’s serial number can be used to authenticate a computer in a wireless local area network. From the test runs whose outcomes were the binary values yes or no, it was found out that SNAP can actually allow or deny, enable or disable a computer in a network based on the computer’s serial number. The researcher therefore, recommends that the prototype be scaled up, then adopted as a network device authentication method KEYWORDS Computer’s Serial Number, Authentication, Wireless LAN, Serial Number -Based Authentication 1. INTRODUCTION Wireless LANs (WLAN) also known as Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) or 802.11 standards is a type of a local area network that allows users access network services using mobile devices (wireless stations) such as laptops, personal digital assistants, smart watches and even smartphones (Dordal, 2018). The wireless stations use a base station usually an access point (AP) or a hotspot as an entry point to the network services (Romanov & Succi, 2018). Unlike wired LANs that use cables or wires as transmission media, WLANs uses radio wave frequencies to transmit information over the local area network. WLAN, therefore, comes with a myriad number of benefits as compared to wired LANs, notably, mobility, rapid deployment, reduction in infrastructure and operational costs, flexibility, and scalability (DHS, 2017 and Wallace, 2018). Due to these benefits, hotspots are now virtually found everywhere; in enterprises, at homes, and in public places. Wireless devices such as