Belkin G Wireless Modem Router PM01218ea F5D7634-4 User Manual

Page 37

G Wireless Modem Router

sections

table of contents

ManUallY ConfIGURInG YoUR RoUTeR

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 8021x

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 the same network key to

access the network Typically, this is the mode that will be used in a

home environment

WPa (with 8021x radius server)

With this system, a radius server distributes the network key to the

clients automatically This is typically found in a business environment

WPa2

The Router features WPA2, which is the second generation of the

WPA-based 80211i standard It offers a higher level of wireless security

by combining advanced network authentication and stronger AES

encryption methods

WPa2 Requirements

IMPoRTanT:

In order to use WPA2 security, all your computers and

wireless client adapters must be upgraded with patches, drivers,

and client utility software that support WPA2 At the time of this

User Manual’s publication, a couple security patches are available,

for free download, from Microsoft

These patches work only with

the Windows XP operating system Other operating systems are not

supported at this time