ZyXEL Communications 2602HWL-D3A What is WEP ?, What is a WEP key ?, Can the Ssid be encrypted ?

Prestige 2602HWL-D3A Support Notes

How do I secure the data across an Access Point's radio link ?

Enable Wired Equivalency Protocol (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) to encrypt the payload of packets sent across a radio link.

What is WEP ?

Wired Equivalent Privacy. WEP is a security mechanism defined within the 802.11 standard and designed to make the security of the wireless medium equal to that of a cable (wire). WEP data encryption was designed to prevent access to the network by "intruders" and to prevent the capture of wireless LAN traffic through eavesdropping. WEP allows the administrator to define a set of respective "Keys" for each wireless network user based on a "Key String" passed through the WEP encryption algorithm. Access is denied by anyone who does not have an assigned key. WEP comes in 40/64-bit and 128-bit encryption key lengths. Note, WEP has shown to have fundamental flaws in its key generation processing.

What is the difference between 40-bit and 64-bit WEP ?

40 bit WEP & 64 bit WEP are the same encryption level and can interoperate. The lower level of WEP encryption uses a 40 bit (10 Hex character) as "secret key" (set by user), and a 24 bit " Initialization Vector " (not under user control) (40+24=64). Some vendors refer to this level of WEP as 40 bit, others as 64 bit.

What is a WEP key ?

A WEP key is a user defined string of characters used to encrypt and decrypt data.

A WEP key is a user defined string of characters used to encrypt and decrypt data ?

128-bit WEP will not communicate with 64-bit WEP or 256-bit WEP Although 128 bit WEP also uses a 24 bit Initialization Vector, but it uses a 104 bit as secret key. Users need to use the same encryption level in order to make a connection.

Can the SSID be encrypted ?

WEP, the encryption standard for 802.11, only encrypts the data packets not the 802.11 management packets and the SSID is in the beacon and probe management messages. The SSID is not encrypted if

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