Belkin PM01110EA user manual Encryption Keys, Wi-Fi Protected Access WPA

Using the Web-Based Advanced User Interface

Table of Contents sections 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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 combination 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 Router uses this passphrase to generate your WEP keys, but different hardware manufacturers might have different methods on generating the keys. If you have multiple vendors’ equipment in your network, the easiest thing to do is to use the hex WEP key from your Router or access point and enter it manually into the hex WEP key table in your Router’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 vendor’s website. There are two types of WPA security: WPA-PSK and WPA2.

WPA-PSK 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.

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.

For a list of Belkin wireless products that support WPA, please visit our website at www.belkin.com/networking.

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