Belkin F5D8055tt User Manual

Page 31

table of contents

N+ Wireless USB Adapter

section

USING THe BelKIN WIreleSS NeTWorKING UTIlITY

encryption Keys
After selecting either the 64-bit WEP or 128-bit 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. You

can enter your key by typing in the hex key. A hex (hexadecimal) key is a

combination of numbers and letters from A–F and 0–9. For 64-bit WEP,

you must enter 10 hex characters. For 128-bit WEP, you must enter 26

hex characters.

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

Write down the hex WEP key from your wireless router (or access point)

and enter it manually into the hex WEP key table in your Adapter’s

configuration screen.

WPA
WPA is a new Wi-Fi standard that improves upon the security features

of WEP. To use WPA security, the drivers and software of your wireless

equipment must be upgraded to support it. These updates will be

found on your wireless vendor’s website. There are three types of WPA

security: WPA-PSK (no server), WPA (with radius server), and WPA2.
WPA-PSK (no server) uses what is known as a pre-shared key as the

network key. A network key is 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 radius server) works best in a business environment, in which

a radius server automatically distributes the network key to clients.
WPA2 requires Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for encryption of

data, which offers much greater security than WPA. WPA uses both

Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and AES for encryption.

Setting up your Belkin Wireless router (or

Access Point) to use Security
To start using security, you must first enable WEP or WPA for your

wireless router (or access point). For Belkin Wireless Routers (or Access

Points), these security features can be configured through the web-

based interface. See your wireless router’s (or access point’s) manual for

directions on how to access the management interface.
IMPorTANT: You must now set all wireless network cards/adapters to

match these settings.