Belkin ADSL2+ Modem with Wireless G Router F5D7632uk4A - Manual (Page 30)

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Manually Configuring your Router
128-Bit WEP
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 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 and 128-bit WEP.
Encryption Keys
After selecting either the “64-bit” or “128-bit WEP” encryption mode, it is critical
that you generate an encryption key. If the encryption key is not consistent
throughout the entire wireless network, your wireless networking devices will be
unable to communicate with one another on your network and you will not be
able to successfully communicate within your network. You can enter your key by
typing in the hex key manually, or you can type in a passphrase in the “Passphrase”
field and click “Generate” to create a key. A hex (hexadecimal) key is a mixture of
numbers and letters from A–F and 0–9. For 64-bit WEP, you need to enter 10 hex
keys. For 128-bit WEP, you need to enter 26 hex keys.
For instance:
AF 0F 4B C3 D4 = 64-bit WEP key
C3 03 0F AF 0F 4B B2 C3 D4 4B C3 D4 E7 = 128-bit WEP key
The WEP passphrase is NOT the same as a WEP key. Your wireless card uses this
passphrase to generate your WEP keys, but different hardware manufacturers
might have different methods for generating the keys. If you have equipment from
multiple vendors in your network, you can use the hex WEP key from your Router
or access point and enter it manually into the hex WEP key table in your wireless
card’s configuration screen.
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
WPA is a new Wi-Fi standard that was designed to improve upon the security
features of WEP. To use WPA security, the drivers and software of your wireless
equipment must be upgraded to support WPA. These updates will be found on
the wireless vendors’ websites. There are two types of WPA security: WPA-PSK
(no server) and WPA (with 802.1x radius server).
WPA-PSK (no server)
This method uses what is known as a “pre-shared key” as the network key. A
network key is basically a password that is between eight and 63 characters
long. It can be a combination of letters, numbers, or characters. Each client uses