Network – Belkin PM01110EA User Manual

Page 53

g Wireless router

sections

table of contents

Using the Web-based advanced User interface

Securing your Wi-Fi

Network

Here are a few different ways you can maximize the security of your

wireless network and protect your data from prying eyes and ears� This

section is intended for the home, home office, and small office user�
At the time of this User Manual’s publication, there are four encryption

methods available�

Name

64-Bit Wired

equivalent

Privacy

128-Bit Wired

equivalent

Privacy

Wi-Fi Protected

Access-TKiP

Wi-Fi Protected

Access 2

Acronym

64-bit WeP

128-bit WeP

WPA-TKiP/Aes (or

just WPA)

WPA2-Aes (or just

WPA2)

security

Good

Better

Best

Features

static keys

Dynamic key

encryption

and mutual

authentication

Dynamic key

encryption

and mutual

authentication

encryption

keys based on

rC4 algorithm

(typically 40-bit

keys)

More secure

than 64-bit

WeP using a

key length of

104 bits plus

24 additional

bits of system-

generated

data

TKiP (Temporal

Key integrity

Protocol) added

so that keys

are rotated and

encryption is

strengthened

Aes (Advanced

encryption

standard) does

not cause any

throughput loss

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
WeP is a common protocol that adds security to all Wi-Fi-compliant

wireless products� WeP was designed to give 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 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�