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For a minimum level of protection on a guest network, you can choose to suppress
(prohibit) the broadcast of the SSID (network name) to discourage client stations from
automatically discovering your access point. (See also “Does Prohibiting the Broadcast SSID
Enhance Security?” on page 86.)
(For more about the guest network, see “Setting up Guest Access” on page 99.)
Static WEP
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a data encryption protocol for 802.11 wireless networks.
All wireless stations and access points on the network are configured with a static 64-bit
(40-bit secret key + 24-bit initialization vector (or IV)), or 128-bit (104-bit secret key + 24-bit
IV) Shared Key for data encryption.
You cannot mix 64-bit and 128-bit WEP keys between the access point and its client
stations.
Static WEP is not the most secure mode available, but it offers more protection than
plain-text mode as it does prevent an outsider from easily sniffing out unencrypted wireless
traffic. (For more secure modes, see “IEEE 802.1x” on page 93, “WPA with RADIUS” on
page 95, or “WPA-PSK” on page 97.) WEP encrypts data moving across the wireless network
based on a static key. (The encryption algorithm is a “stream” cipher called RC4.)
The access point uses a key to transmit data to the client stations. Each client station must
use that same key to decrypt data it receives from the access point.
Client stations can use different keys to transmit data to the access point. (Or they can
all use the same key, but this is less secure because it means one station can decrypt the
data being sent by another.) If you selected “Static WEP” security mode, provide the
following on the access point settings: