WEP Encryption

Instant Wireless® Series

An acronym for Wired Equivalent Privacy, WEP is an encryption method used to protect your wireless data communications. WEP uses 64-bit or 128-bit keys to provide access control to your network and encryption secu- rity for every data transmission. To decode a data transmission, each device in a network must use an identical WEP key. Higher encryption levels offer higher levels of security, but due to the complexity of the encryption, they may decrease network performance.

The wireless networks available to the Game Adapter are listed below. Detailed information about the networks is listed on each line. This information includes SSID, MAC Address, Channel, Signal Strength (as a percentage), and Mode.

•SSID - The network name. To join a wireless network, click the radio but- ton next to the SSID.

•MAC Address - The MAC address of the network’s access point.

•Channel - The channel setting.

•Signal Strength (%) - The percentage of wireless signal strength.

•Mode - The type of wireless standard, network mode, and status of WEP encryption.

Click the Connect button to connect to the selected network. If your page does- n’t automatically refresh itself, then click the Refresh button of your web browser.

Click the WEP Key Settings button from the Setup screen to configure the WEP settings. This will open the WEP Encryption screen.

Note: Make sure your WEP key matches the WEP key of the wire- less network you want to join. Otherwise, the connection will fail.

Wireless-G Ethernet Bridge

Figure 7-3

Note: You may have to refresh this page to see any new settings.

•Default Transmit Key - Select which WEP key (1-4) will be used when the Game Adapter sends data. Make sure the other wireless-equipped devices are using the same key.

•WEP Encryption - In order to use WEP encryption, select 64-Bit (10 hex digits) or 128-Bit (26 hex digits) from the drop-down menu.

•Passphrase - Instead of manually entering WEP keys, you can enter a Passphrase. This Passphrase is used to generate one or more WEP keys. It is case-sensitive and should not be longer than 16 alphanumeric characters. (The Passphrase function is compatible with Linksys wireless products only. If you want to communicate with non-Linksys wireless products, you will need to enter your WEP key(s) manually on the non-Linksys wireless products.) After you enter the Passphrase, click the Generate button to cre- ate WEP key(s).