What is a WEP Key - WEP vs WPA

What is a WEP key ? a WEP or Wireless Equivalent Privacy key is the name given to a wireless security code which is used to connect to a secured or password protected wireless connection.

WEP was introduced around 8 years ago when computer wireless hardware became available, and although its been very successful in terms of popularity, it falls down hard on its security, and as the flaws became more known it was not long before an alternative security was needed.

WPA was announced which then seemed to take ages to actually get released.

These flaws involved the use of static encryption keys. When a Wireless Router is setup to use WEP every device connecting uses the same wireless key, and the packets sent to each device although are encrypted can be captured but a third party and can then be analyzed and cracked to find the key code.

Many routers come with a set of 4 key codes that’s can be setup and used by different individuals, but much of the time this is not used, making it easier for anyone wishing to gather information to gain access to your network. To show how quickly this can be done WEP hacking software with a decent dual core machine can crack a WEP pass code in seconds.

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When using WPA PSK (Pre shared Key) your network is protected by using a plain English password between 8 and 63 characters in length, unlike WEP which only uses an encryption key. WPA also creates unique encryption keys for each wireless device which constantly change.

WEP vs WPA
The only reason anyone should still be using WEP is if any network equipment does not support WPA if you find that your hardware does not support WPA check for firmware updates or replace if you are concerned.

Of course if you wish to use WEP your network will still be more than secure against most people wishing to connect, but on the flip side of this, it may not only be your network that is exposed, if someone can access your wireless network apart from using your internet connection they may also be able to access your router, change passwords and literally take control of it, or see which devices are connected, and then even try to get onto them, the repercussions of this are limited only to how malicious the person is, so if you have the option to use WPA use it, there is no reason to stick with WEP.

Just about all new hardware should be WPA compatible if not find one that is.

WEP – Earliest and least secure method of securing a wireless network

WPA (PSK) Very secure, but not infallible

WPA (AES) The latest and most secure protection, if using XP you will need to download an update for this from here

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So if you have the choice WPA (AES) is the best of the three you should currently choose.

WPA is just one step towards good network security, and at the end of the day there really is no network that can be called 100% secure, there are just too many factors to be considered, but by making yours as secure as possible in all areas you greatly reduce the risk of it being compromised, read more here on network security.

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