37
Manually Configuring your Router
Manually Configuring your Router
37
Manually Configuring your Router
se
ct
io
n
2
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
12
Encryption/Security
Securing your Wi-Fi Network
Here are a few different ways you can maximize the security of your
wireless network and protect your data from prying eyes and ears.
This section is intended for the home, home office, and small office
user. At the time of this User Manual’s publication, there are four
encryption methods available.
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
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
WEP is a common protocol that adds security to all Wi-Fi-compliant
wireless products. WEP was designed to give wireless networks the
equivalent level of privacy protection as a comparable wired network.
64-Bit WEP
64-bit WEP was first introduced with 64-bit encryption, which
includes a key length of 40 bits plus 24 additional bits of system-
generated data (64 bits total). Some hardware manufacturers refer
to 64-bit as 40-bit encryption. Shortly after the technology was
introduced, researchers found that 64-bit encryption was too easy to
decode.
