Belkin F5D8051 User Manual - Page 24

Using the Belkin Wireless Networking Utility section 1 Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a less secure, but more widely adopted wireless security protocol. Depending on the security level (64- or 128-bit), the user will be asked to input a 10- or 2 26-character hex key. A hex key is a combination of letters, a-f, and numbers, 0-9. 3 Wireless Protected Access (WPA) is the new standard in the wireless security. However, not all wireless cards and adapters 4 support this technology. Please check your wireless adapter's user manual to check if it supports WPA. Instead of a hex key, WPA uses only passphrases, which are much easier to remember. 5 The following section, intended for the home, home-office, and small-office user, presents a few different ways to maximize the 6 security of your wireless network. At the time of publication, four encryption methods are available: Encryption Methods: Name Acronym Security Features 64-Bit Wired 128-Bit Equivalent Privacy Encryption Wi-Fi Protected Access-TKIP Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 64-bit WEP Good Static keys 128-bit WEP Better Static keys WPA-TKIP/ AES (or just WPA) Best Dynamic key encryption and mutual authentication WPA2-AES (or just WPA2) Best 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 systemgenerated 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 WEP is a common protocol that adds security to all Wi-Fi-compliant wireless products. WEP gives wireless networks the equivalent level of privacy protection as a comparable wired network. 19