Belkin F5D8053EA user manual Wired Equivalent Privacy WEP is a less secure, but more

Using the Belkin Wireless Networking Utility

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a less secure, but more

widely adopted wireless security protocol. Depending on the security level (64- or 128-bit), the user will be asked to input a 10- or 26- character hex key. A hex key is a combination of letters, a–f, and numbers, 0–9.

Wireless Protected Access (WPA) is the new standard in

the wireless security. However, not all wireless cards and adapters support this technology. Please check your wireless adapter’s user manual to check if it supports WPA. Instead of a hex key, WPA uses only passphrases, which are much easier to remember.

The following section, intended for the home, home-office, and small- office user, presents a few different ways to maximize the security of your wireless network.

At the time of publication, four encryption methods are available: Encryption Methods:

Name	64-bit Wired	128-bit	Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi
	Equivalent Privacy	Encryption	Protected	Protected
			Access	Access
Acronym	64-bit WEP	128-bit WEP	WPA-TKIP	WPA-AES
Security	Good	Better	Best	Best
Features	Static keys	Static keys	Dynamic key	Dynamic key
			encryption	encryption
			and mutual	and mutual
			authentication	authentication
	Encryption keys	Added security	TKIP (temporal	AES
	based on RC4	over 64-bit	key integrity	(Advanced
	algorithm (typically	WEP using a	protocol)	Encryption
	40-bit keys)	key length of	added so	Standard)
		104 bits, plus	that keys are	does not
		24 additional	rotated and	cause any
		bits of system-	encryption is	throughput
		generated data	strengthened	loss

WEP

WEP is a common protocol that adds security to all Wi-Fi-compliant wireless products. WEP gives wireless networks the equivalent level of privacy protection as a comparable wired network.

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