3Com OfficeConnect 3C857, User Manual

Page: 48 / 120

48 C
HAPTER
5: G
ATEWAY
C
ONFIGURATION
Encryption
Figure 34 Encryption Screen
Wired Equivalent Privacy or WEP allows you to encrypt the traffic
between your Wireless PC and the Gateway. It is important to remember
that with WEP disabled anyone with a Wireless PC can eavesdrop on your
network. 3Com recommends that you get the network working with
WEP disabled first and then enable it as the last step. This will simplify
setting up your network.
If you enable WEP on the Gateway, you must reconfigure your wireless
PCs to use exactly the same Encryption Type and Keys otherwise the
devices will not understand each other.
WEP is for securing data transmitted through wireless communications
between the Gateway and it's wireless clients. Enabling WEP has no
security effect on data transmitted through wired (Ethernet) connections
or through your connections to the Internet.
Wireless Encryption Type
There are two levels of encryption available, 64 bit (sometimes referred to
as 40 bit) and 128 bit. 128 bit will result in a higher level of security, but
may cause a slight decrease in performance. Use the
Wireless Encryption
Type box to select the desired level.