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Prestige 2802HW(L)-Ix Support Notes
All contents copyright (c) 2007 ZyXEL Communications Corporation.
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How do I secure the data across an Access Point's radio link ?
Enable Wired Equivalency Protocol (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) to encrypt the payload of
packets sent across a radio link.
What is WEP ?
Wired Equivalent Privacy. WEP is a security mechanism defined within the 802.11 standard and designed
to make the security of the wireless medium equal to that of a cable (wire). WEP data encryption was
designed to prevent access to the network by "intruders" and to prevent the capture of wireless LAN
traffic through eavesdropping. WEP allows the administrator to define a set of respective "Keys" for each
wireless network user based on a "Key String" passed through the WEP encryption algorithm. Access is
denied by anyone who does not have an assigned key. WEP comes in 40/64-bit and 128-bit encryption
key lengths. Note, WEP has shown to have fundamental flaws in its key generation processing.
What is the difference between 40-bit and 64-bit WEP ?
40 bit WEP & 64 bit WEP are the same encryption level and can interoperate. The lower level of WEP
encryption uses a 40 bit (10 Hex character) as "secret key" (set by user), and a 24 bit " Initialization
Vector " (not under user control) (40+24=64). Some vendors refer to this level of WEP as 40 bit, others as
64 bit.
What is a WEP key ?
A WEP key is a user defined string of characters used to encrypt and decrypt data.
A WEP key is a user defined string of characters used to encrypt and decrypt data ?
128-bit WEP will not communicate with 64-bit WEP or 256-bit WEP Although 128 bit WEP also uses a
24 bit Initialization Vector, but it uses a 104 bit as secret key. Users need to use the same encryption level
in order to make a connection.
Can the SSID be encrypted ?
WEP, the encryption standard for 802.11, only encrypts the data packets not the 802.11 management
packets and the SSID is in the beacon and probe management messages. The SSID is not encrypted if