5. Security
To prevent unauthorized accessing the transmitted data over your network, the WLAN
Utility offers sophisticated security options. To activate the security options, click the
checkbox next to
Security
.
5.1 Small Office – Home (SoHo)
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
This is the first and most used encryption mode for wireless networks and can be used in
peer to peer networks and networks which use a Accesspoint.
Make sure the same key is used on all wireless stations. Choose either
Open
or
Shared
for Authentication Mode and
WEP
for Encryption Mode.
Open key authentication involves supplying the correct SSID. With shared key
authentication, the AP sends the client device a challenge text packet that the client must
then encrypt with the correct WEP key and return to the AP. If the client has the wrong
key or no key, authentication will fail and the client will not be allowed to associate with
the AP. Shared key authentication is considered less secure, because a hacker who
detects both the clear-text challenge and the same challenge encrypted with a WEP key
can decipher the WEP key.
With open key authentication, even if a client can complete authentication and associate
with an AP, the use of WEP prevents the client from sending data to and receiving data
from the AP, unless the client has the correct WEP key.
Next configure the
Pre-configured key (WEP)
section
Choose the format for entering the key, either Hexadecimal, Alphanumeric (ASCII) or
PassPhrase.
