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D-Link DIR-X4860 User Manual
Appendix D - Wireless Security
Wireless Security
This section will show you the different levels of security you can use to protect your data from intruders. The router offers
the following types of security:
• Latest Wi-Fi security with 128-bit encryption.
• 802.11 128-bit AES
• 802.11 128-bit AES-PSK (Pre-Shared Key)
What is 802.11 128-bit AES?
802.11 128-bit AES , is a Wi-Fi standard that was designed to improve the security features of WEP (Wired Equivalent
Privacy).
The 2 major improvements over WEP:
• Improved data encryption through the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). TKIP scrambles the keys using a
hashing algorithm and by adding an integrity-checking feature, ensures that the keys haven’t been tampered
with. 802.11 128-bit AES is based on 802.11i and uses Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) instead of TKIP.
• User authentication, which is generally missing in WEP, through the extensible authentication protocol (EAP). WEP
regulates access to a wireless network based on a computer’s hardware-specific MAC address, which is relatively
simple to be sniffed out and stolen. EAP is built on a more secure public-key encryption system to ensure that
only authorized network users can access the network.
802.11 128-bit AES-PSK and the latest Wi-Fi security with 128-bit encryption uses a passphrase or key to authenticate your
wireless connection. The key is an alpha-numeric password between 8 and 63 characters long. The password can include
symbols (!?*&_) and spaces. This key must be the exact same key entered on your wireless router or access point.
802.11 128-bit AES incorporates user authentication through the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP). EAP is built on a
more secure public key encryption system to ensure that only authorized network users can access the network.
