NETGEAR NTGWGR614 manual Understanding WEP Authentication and Encryption

Reference Manual for Cable/DSL Wireless Router WGR614

Understanding WEP Authentication and Encryption

Restricting wireless access to your network prevents intruders from connecting to your network. However, the wireless data transmissions are still vulnerable to snooping. Using the WEB data encryption settings described below will prevent a determined intruder from eavesdropping on your wireless data communications. Also, if you are using the Internet for such activities as purchases or banking, those Internet sites use another level of highly secure encryption called SSL. You can tell if a web site is using SSL because the web address begins with HTTPS rather than HTTP.

Authentication Scheme Selection

Figure 3-3: Encryption Strength

The WGR614 lets you select the following wireless authentication schemes.

•Automatic.

•Open System.

•Shared key.

Note: The authentication scheme is separate from the data encryption. You can choose an authentication scheme which requires a shared key but still leave the data transmissions unencrypted. If you require strong security, use both the Shared Key and WEP encryption settings.

Be sure to set your wireless adapter according to the authentication scheme you choose for the WGR614 router. Please refer to “Authentication and WEP” on page D-3for a full explanation of each of these options, as defined by the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication standard.

Encryption Strength Choices

Choose the encryption strength from the drop-down list. Please refer to “Overview of WEP Parameters” on page D-5for a full explanation of each of these options, as defined by the IEEE 802.11 wireless communication standard.

Wireless Configuration 3-5