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Securing your Wi-Fi
®
Network
Here are a few different ways to maximize the security of your wireless
network and protect your data from unwanted intrusion. This section
is intended for the home, home office, and small office user. At the
time of publication, three encryption methods are available.
Encryption Methods:
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) 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.
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.
Using the Belkin Wireless LAN Utility
Name 64-bit Wired
Equivalent Privacy
128-bit
Encryption
Wi-Fi
Protected
Access
Wi-Fi
Protected
Access
Acronym 64-bit WEP 128-bit WEP WPA-TKIP WPA-AES
Security Good Better Best Best
Features Static keys Static keys Dynamic key
encryption
and mutual
authentication
Dynamic key
encryption
and mutual
authentication
Encryption keys
based on RC4
algorithm (typically
40-bit keys)
Added security
over 64-bit
WEP using a
key length of
104 bits, plus
24 additional
bits of system-
generated 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.