ZyXEL NWD2105 User Guide - Page 34

Chapter 3 Wireless LANs

NWD2105 User’s Guide

34

3.3

Wireless LAN Security

Wireless LAN security is vital to your network to protect wireless communications.

If you do not enable any wireless security on your NWD2105, the NWD2105’s wireless

communications are accessible to any wireless networking device that is in the coverage area.

Note: You can use only WEP encryption if you set the NWD2105 to Ad-hoc mode.

See the appendices for more detailed information about wireless security.

3.3.1

User Authentication and Encryption

You can make every user log in to the wireless network before they can use it. This is called user

authentication. However, every wireless client in the wireless network has to support IEEE 802.1x

to do this.

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.

3.3.1.1

WEP

3.3.1.1.1

Data Encryption

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) encryption scrambles all data packets transmitted between the

NWD2105 and the AP or other wireless stations to keep network communications private. Both the

wireless stations and the access points must use the same WEP key for data encryption and

decryption.

There are two ways to create WEP keys in your NWD2105.

•

Automatic WEP key generation based on a “password phrase” called a passphrase. The

passphrase is case sensitive. You must use the same passphrase for all WLAN adapters with this

feature in the same WLAN.

For WLAN adapters without the passphrase feature, you can still take advantage of this feature

by writing down the four automatically generated WEP keys from the

Security Settings

screen

of the ZyXEL utility and entering them manually as the WEP keys in the other WLAN adapter(s).

•

Enter the WEP keys manually.

Your NWD2105 allows you to configure up to four 64-bit or 128-bit WEP keys. Only one key is

used as the default key at any one time.

3.3.1.1.2

Authentication Type

The IEEE 802.11b/g standard describes a simple authentication method between the wireless

stations and AP. Three authentication types are defined:

Auto

,

Open

and

Shared

.

•

Open

mode is implemented for ease-of-use and when security is not an issue. The wireless

station and the AP or peer computer do not share a secret key. Thus the wireless stations can

associate with any AP or peer computer and listen to any transmitted data that is not encrypted.

Section	Page
NWD2105	1
About This User's Guide	3
Document Conventions	5
Safety Warnings	7
Contents Overview	9
Table of Contents	11
Introduction and Configuration	15
Getting Started	17
1.1 Overview	17
1.1.1 What You Need to Know	17
1.1.2 Before You Begin	17
1.2 About Your NWD2105	18
1.2.1 Hardware	18
1.3 Application Overview	18
1.3.1 Infrastructure	19
1.3.2 Ad-Hoc	19
1.4 Hardware and Utility Installation	20
1.4.1 ZyXEL Utility Icon	20
1.5 Configuration Methods	21
1.5.1 Enabling Windows Wireless Configuration	21
1.5.2 Accessing the ZyXEL Utility	21
Tutorial	22
2.1 Overview	22
2.1.1 What You Can Do in This Tutorial	22
2.1.2 What You Need to Know	22
2.1.3 Before You Begin	22
2.2 Connecting to an AP using Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)	23
2.2.1 Push Button Configuration (PBC)	23
2.2.2 PIN Configuration	24
2.3 Connecting to an AP Without Using WPS	26
2.3.1 Manually Connecting to a Wireless LAN	26
2.3.2 Creating and Using a Profile	28
2.4 Configuring the NWD2105 as an AP	30
Wireless LANs	32
3.1 Overview	32
3.1.1 What You Can Do in This Section	32
3.1.2 What You Need to Know	32
3.1.3 Before You Begin	33
3.2 Wireless LAN Overview	33
3.3 Wireless LAN Security	34
3.3.1 User Authentication and Encryption	34
3.4 WiFi Protected Setup	36
3.4.1 Push Button Configuration	36
3.4.2 PIN Configuration	36
3.4.3 How WPS Works	38
3.4.4 Limitations of WPS	41
Station Mode	43
4.1 Overview	43
4.1.1 What You Can Do in This Section	43
4.1.2 What You Need to Know	43
4.1.3 Before You Begin	44
4.2 ZyXEL Utility Screen Summary	44
4.3 The Link Info Screen	45
4.3.1 Trend Chart	46
4.4 The Site Survey Screen	47
4.4.1 Security Settings	48
4.4.2 Summary Screen	53
4.5 The Profile Screen	54
4.5.1 Adding a New Profile	55
4.6 The Adapter Screen	59
4.6.1 WPS: PBC (Push Button Configuration)	60
4.6.2 WPS: PIN - Use this Device’s PIN	60
4.6.3 WPS: PIN - Use the PIN from the AP or Wireless Router	61
4.7 Security Settings in Windows Vista	61
4.7.1 Using PEAP in Vista	62
4.7.2 Using TLS in Vista	63
AP Mode	64
5.1 Overview	64
5.1.1 What You Can Do in This Section	65
5.1.2 What You Need to Know	65
5.1.3 Before You Begin	65
5.2 AP Mode Screen Summary	66
5.3 The Link Info Screen	67
5.4 The Configuration Screen	68
5.4.1 Security Settings	69
5.5 The MAC Filter Screen	71
Maintenance	73
6.1 Overview	73
6.1.1 What You Can Do in This Section	73
6.1.2 What You Need to Know	73
6.1.3 Before You Begin	73
6.2 The About Screen	74
6.3 Uninstalling the ZyXEL Utility	74
6.4 Upgrading the ZyXEL Utility	75
Troubleshooting and Specifications	77
Troubleshooting	79
7.1 Power, Hardware Connections, and LEDs	79
7.2 Accessing the ZyXEL Utility	80
7.3 Link Quality	80
7.4 Problems Communicating with Other Computers	80
Product Specifications	83
Appendices and Index	87
Setting Up Your Computer’s IP Address	89
Wireless LANs	119
Windows Wireless Management	133
Wireless for Windows 7	157
Legal Information	163

ZyXEL NWD2105 User Guide - Page 34

Wireless LAN Security, 3.3.1 User Authentication and Encryption

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