USING THe BelKIN WIreleSS NeTWorKING UTIlITY
section
table of contents
At the time of publication, four encryption methods are available:
encryption Methods:
Name
64-bit Wired
128-bit
Equivalent
Encryption
Privacy
Acronym
64-bit WEP
128-bit WEP
Security
Good
Better
Features
Static keys
Static keys
Encryption
Added
keys based
security over
on RC4
64-bit WEP
algorithm
using a key
(typically
length of 104
40-bit keys)
bits, plus 24
additional
bits of
system-
generated
data
N+ Wireless USB Adapter
1
2
3
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Protected
Protected
Access
Access
WPA-TKIP/AES
WPA2-AES
(or just WPA)
(or just WPA2)
Best
Best
Dynamic key
Dynamic key
encryption
encryption
and mutual
and mutual
authentication
authentication
TKIP
AES
(temporal
(Advanced
key integrity
Encryption
protocol)
Standard)
added so
does not
that keys are
cause any
rotated and
throughput
encryption is
loss
strengthened
4
5
6
WeP
WeP 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.
128-Bit Encryption
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 WEP 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 WEP and 128-bit
encryption.
28