Mobility Electronics NP644 User Manual
Page 5
NP644 IEEE 802.11g Wireless Network USB Adaptor
5
YML787 Rev1
Wireless Security Terms
The Advanced Features of the NP644 include the ability to select from several types of
Wireless Security.
WEP
WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy. Introduced with
802.11b, WEP uses encryption to protect data confidentiality
by way of pre-shared keys (passwords or pass-phrases) that are
entered at both ends. Superseded by WPA and 802.11i but still in
use.
WPA
WPA stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access - authorizes and
identifies users based on a secret key that changes automatically
at a pre-defined interval. This is called TKIP (Temporal Key
Integrity Protocol) to change the temporal key every 10,000
packets (= unit of data.) Keys can either be pre-shared or
established by a RADIUS Server.
RADIUS
RADIUS is part of 802.11i security; this is a wireless standard
which is only concerned with wireless security standards.
Authentication is based around a secure server with a challenge-
and-response method of interaction which verifies the identity
of the client wishing to connect to the network. If you wish to
connect to a RADIUS server ask the Network Administrator for
details. RADIUS servers are not usually used as part of home
networks.