English
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English
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Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
is a less secure, but more widely adopted wireless security
protocol . Depending on the security level (64- or 128-bit), the
user will be asked to input a 10- or 26-character hex key . A hex
key is a combination of letters, a–f, and numbers, 0–9.
Wi-Fi Protected Access
™
(WPA)
is the new standard in the wireless security . However, not all wireless
cards and adapters support this technology . Please check your wireless
adapter’s user manual to check if it supports WPA . Instead of a hex key,
WPA uses only passphrases, which are much easier to remember .
The following section, intended for the home, home-office, and
small-office user, presents a few different ways to
maximize the security of your wireless network .
At the time of publication, four encryption methods are available:
Encryption Methods:
Name
64-Bit Wired
Equivalent Privacy
128-Bit Wired
Equivalent Privacy
Wi-Fi Protected
Access-TKIP
Wi-Fi Protected
Access 2
Acronym
64-bit WEP
128-bit WEP
WPA-TKIP/AES
(or just WPA)
WPA2-AES
(or just WPA2)
Security
Good
Better
Best
Best
Features
Static keys
Static keys
Dynamic key
encryption
and mutual
authentication
Dynamic key
encryption
and mutual
authentication
Encryption
keys based on
RC4 algorithm
(typically
40-bit keys)
More secure than
64-bit WEP using
a key length
of 104 bits
plus 24 additional
bits of system-
generated data
TKIP (Temporal
Key Integrity
Protocol) added
so that keys
are rotated and
encryption is
strengthened
AES (Advanced
Encryption
Standard) does
not cause any
throughput loss
section
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2
3
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6
Using the Belkin Wireless Networking Utility
