22 | Chapter 2: Safeguarding Your Network

N150 Wireless Router User Manual

security methods, click the link to the online document Wireless Networking Basics in Appendix B.

Table 1. Wireless Security Options

Security Type Description
None.No wireless security. Recommended only for
troubleshooting wireless connectivity. Do not run an
unsecured wireless network unless it is your
intention to provide free Internet access for the
public.
WEP. Wired Equivalent Privacy. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption
provides moderate data security. WEP Shared Key
authentication and WEP data encryption can be
defeated by a determined eavesdropper using
publicly available tools.
For more information, see Configuring WEP Wireless
Security on page 26.
WPA-PSK (TKIP). WPA-PSK standard encryption
with TKIP encryption type.
WPA2-PSK (AES). Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2
with Pre-Shared Key; WPA2-PSK standard
encryption with the AES encryption type.
WPA-PSK (TKIP) + WPA2-PSK (AES). Mixed mode.
Wi-Fi Protected Access with Pre-Shared Key
(WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK) data encryption
provides extremely strong data security, very
effectively blocking eavesdropping. Because WPA
and WPA2 are relatively new standards, older
wireless adapters and devices might not support
them.
For more information, see Configuring WPA-PSK
and WPA2-PSK Wireless Security on page 28.

Table 2. Other Features That Enhance Security

Security Type Description
Disable the wireless router radio. If you disable the wireless router radio, wireless
devices cannot communicate with the router at all.
You might disable this when you are away or when
other users of your network all use wired
connections.
For more information, see Viewing Advanced
Wireless Settings on page 29.
Turn off the broadcast of the wireless network
name SSID.
If you disable the broadcast of the SSID, only
devices that know the correct SSID can connect.
This nullifies the wireless network discovery feature
of some products such as Windows XP, but your data
is still fully exposed to an intruder using available
wireless eavesdropping tools.
For more information, see Viewing Advanced
Wireless Settings on page 29.