Linksys WCG200 manual Wireless Security, Bit Encryption, Wireless-G Cable Gateway

Wireless Security

Figure 5-5

Wireless SSID Broadcast. When wireless clients survey the local area for wireless networks to associate with, they will detect the SSID broadcast by the Router. To broadcast the Router's SSID, keep the default setting, Enabled. If you do not want to broadcast the Router's SSID, then select Disabled.

Wireless Encryption Level. 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 security for every data transmission. To decode data transmissions, all devices-Wireless-G and 802.11b-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. If you select 64-Bit Encryption, you will see the screen in Figure 5-6. If you select 128-Bit Encryption, you will see the screen in Figure 5-7. If you don’t want to use WEP security, select No Encryption.

To save your changes on this page, click the Save Settings button. To cancel any unsaved changes on this page, click the Cancel Changes button.

Wireless-G Cable Gateway

64-Bit Encryption

Figure 5-6

Default Key. Select which WEP key (1-4) will be used when the Router sends data. Make sure the receiving device is using the same key.

Passphrase for Keys. 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. (This Passphrase function is compatible with Linksys wireless products only. If you want to communicate with non-Linksys wireless products, enter the WEP key manually on the non-Linksys wireless products.) After you enter the Passphrase, click the Generate button to create WEP keys.

Wireless WEP Keys 1-4.WEP keys enable you to create an encryption scheme for wireless LAN transmissions. If you are not using a Passphrase, then manu- ally enter a set of values. (Do not leave a key field blank, and do not enter all zeroes. These are not valid key values.)

For 64-bit WEP encryption, the key must be exactly 10 hexadecimal characters in length.

When finished making your changes on this tab, click the Save Settings button to save these changes, or click the Cancel Changes button to undo your changes.

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