3Com 3CRWE554G72 User Guide - Page 49

Wireless Settings 49 3Com recommends that you install your wireless network with this feature enabled and then disable it once you have set up the Gateway and wireless clients. Encryption When setting up wireless networks, it is important to remember that with encryption disabled, anyone with a Wireless PC can eavesdrop on your network. 3Com recommends that you get the network working with encryption disabled first and then enable it as the last step. This will simplify setting up your network. The Gateway supports two types of encryption: ■ WPA - Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a 256 bit encryption method with keys that change over time. ■ WEP - Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a 64 bit or 128 bit encryption method with user configurable fixed keys. WPA provides a higher level of security, provided by its longer key and dynamic changes made to the key over time. 3Com recommends that you use WPA with any clients which support it. If you enable encryption on the Gateway, you must reconfigure your wireless PCs to use exactly the same Encryption Type and Keys otherwise the devices will not understand each other. The encryption methods used by the Gateway secure data transmitted through wireless communications between the Gateway and its wireless clients. Enabling encryption has no security effect on data transmitted through wired (Ethernet) connections or through your connections to the Internet. Configuring WPA Encryption The only configuration that is needed for WPA is to enter the pre-shared key. This key is used to start the dialog between the Gateway and the client. During this dialog, a new key is agreed, making it more difficult to eavesdrop on wireless networks encrypted using WPA, than those encrypted using WEP. The pre-shared key can be entered as a 256 bit series of hexadecimal digits or as a pass-phrase.