Filter
Top Products
Using the Web-Based Advanced User Interface
section
2
1
3
4
5
6
7
21
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
WEP is a common protocol that adds security to all Wi-Fi-compliant
wireless products. WEP was designed to give wireless networks the
equivalent level of privacy protection as a comparable wired network.
64-Bit WEP
64-bit WEP was first introduced with 64-bit encryption, which includes
a key length of 40 bits plus 24 additional bits of system-generated data
(64 bits total). Some hardware manufacturers refer to 64-bit as 40-bit
encryption. Shortly after the technology was introduced, researchers
found that 64-bit encryption was too easy to decode.
128-Bit WEP
As a result of 64-bit WEP’s potential security weaknesses, a more secure
method of 128-bit encryption was developed. 128-bit encryption includes
a key length of 104 bits plus 24 additional bits of system-generated
data (128 bits total). Some hardware manufacturers refer to 128-bit as
104-bit encryption.
Most of the new wireless equipment in the market today supports both
64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption, but you might have older equipment
that only supports 64-bit WEP. All Belkin wireless products will support
both 64-bit and 128-bit WEP.
Encryption Keys
After selecting either the 64-bit or 128-bit WEP encryption mode, it is
critical that you generate an encryption key. If the encryption key is
not consistent throughout the entire wireless network, your wireless
networking devices will be unable to communicate with one another on
your network and you will not be able to successfully communicate within
your network.
You can enter your key by typing in the hex key manually, or you can type
in a passphrase in the “Passphrase” field and click “Generate” to create a
key. A hex (hexadecimal) key is a combination of numbers and letters from
A–F and 0–9. For 64-bit WEP, you need to enter 10 hex characters. For
128-bit WEP, you need to enter 26 hex characters.
For instance:
AF 0F 4B C3 D4 = 64-bit WEP key
C3 03 0F AF 0F 4B B2 C3 D4 4B C3 D4 E7 = 128-bit WEP key