ZyXEL P-660HNU-F1 User Guide - Page 121
User Authentication, Encryption, WPA-PSK
View all ZyXEL P-660HNU-F1 manuals
Add to My Manuals
Save this manual to your list of manuals |
Page 121 highlights
Chapter 6 Wireless 6.7.2.3 User Authentication Authentication is the process of verifying whether a wireless device is allowed to use the wireless network. You can make every user log in to the wireless network before using it. However, every device in the wireless network has to support IEEE 802.1x to do this. For wireless networks, you can store the user names and passwords for each user in a RADIUS server. This is a server used in businesses more than in homes. If you do not have a RADIUS server, you cannot set up user names and passwords for your users. Unauthorized wireless devices can still see the information that is sent in the wireless network, even if they cannot use the wireless network. Furthermore, there are ways for unauthorized wireless users to get a valid user name and password. Then, they can use that user name and password to use the wireless network. 6.7.2.4 Encryption Wireless networks can use encryption to protect the information that is sent in the wireless network. Encryption is like a secret code. If you do not know the secret code, you cannot understand the message. The types of encryption you can choose depend on the type of authentication. (See Section 6.7.2.3 on page 121 for information about this.) Table 26 Types of Encryption for Each Type of Authentication NO AUTHENTICATION RADIUS SERVER Weakest No Security WPA Static WEP WPA-PSK Strongest WPA2-PSK WPA2 For example, if the wireless network has a RADIUS server, you can choose WPA or WPA2. If users do not log in to the wireless network, you can choose no encryption, Static WEP, WPA-PSK, or WPA2-PSK. Usually, you should set up the strongest encryption that every device in the wireless network supports. For example, suppose you have a wireless network with the ZyXEL Device and you do not have a RADIUS server. Therefore, there is no authentication. Suppose the wireless network has two devices. Device A only supports WEP, and device B supports WEP and WPA. Therefore, you should set up Static WEP in the wireless network. Note: It is recommended that wireless networks use WPA-PSK, WPA, or stronger encryption. The other types of encryption are better than none at all, but it is still possible for unauthorized wireless devices to figure out the original information pretty quickly. When you select WPA2 or WPA2-PSK in your ZyXEL Device, you can also select an option (WPA compatible) to support WPA as well. In this case, if some of the devices support WPA and some support WPA2, you should set up WPA2-PSK or WPA2 (depending on the type of wireless network login) and select the WPA compatible option in the ZyXEL Device. ADSL Series User's Guide 121