Encryption

•Current Channel — The channel number shown here is the channel used for communication between wireless stations and an AP (or, in an ad-hoc network, between stations). In infrastructure mode, stations will scan for the channel the AP is using and change to the same channel automatically. In ad-hoc node, the channel number must be set manually on each station that wishes to connect.

•Current Tx Rate — Shows the current transmission rate of the adapter.

•Signal Strength — Displays the signal strength level.

•Rescan — Clicking Rescan forces the station to rescan for an access point with the same domain name on a different channel.

Data encryption provides more secure wireless data communications. Click the Encryption tab to view or change security settings (Figure 18). The default setting is Disabled, and initially no key input boxes appear.

Figure 18. Adapter Properties window — Encryption panel

The Method control can be set to Disabled, 40-bit WEP, or 128-bit WEP. WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy, an encryption scheme that provides secure wireless data communications. WEP uses a 40-bit or 128-bit key to scramble wireless network data. In order to decode the data, each wireless station on the network must use an identical 40-bit or 128-bit key.

InstantWave 11-Mbps USB Wireless LAN Adapter