newbie to encryption

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.internet.wireless (More info?)

I bought a Dlink 624+ router and need some information on:

Authentication: Open System, Shared Key, WPA, WPA-PSK

WEP: enabled/disabled, WEP Encryptions , Key Type, KEY1, etc.

What is the difference between the "Authentication" and "WEP"? Can
they be used simultaneously?

I'm new so any information will be helpful. I would have looked it up
but DLink is notorious for releasing an upgrade with no documentation
in sight.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.internet.wireless (More info?)

tommy:


The best way to learn about these things is to check what the
acronym stands for.

WEP=Wired Equivalent Privacy is a protocol for encrypting
wireless packets so that they're harder to eavesdrop.

The problem with WEP is that it has some fundamental flaws in it
and it's not that hard to crack. That's why all the other forms of
wireless security keep popping up, WPA being one of the latest.

Authentication is the process of making sure that the person who
claims to be Joe Shmoe is actually Joe Shmoe, and not someone
pretending to be Joe or someone trying to use Joe's computing
resources by accident.

You use authentication whenever you use any account which requires a
username and password. The password verifies your authenticity, just
like a passport verifies your authenticity at the airport. Well...at
least it used to.

For detailed info. on wireless security, try using ww.about.com

They have very straightforward definitions and explanations for
the non-technical person.

Any search engine like Google will work too. Good terms
to use would be basic wireless security or something similar.

A good how-to article can be found here:
http://arstechnica.com/paedia/w/wireless-security-howto/home-802.11b-1.html

(shameless plug for one of my favourite sites.)


David









On 3 May 2004 16:39:38 -0700, tommynospam@yahoo.com (tommy) wrote:

>I bought a Dlink 624+ router and need some information on:
>
>Authentication: Open System, Shared Key, WPA, WPA-PSK
>
>WEP: enabled/disabled, WEP Encryptions , Key Type, KEY1, etc.
>
>What is the difference between the "Authentication" and "WEP"? Can
>they be used simultaneously?
>
>I'm new so any information will be helpful. I would have looked it up
>but DLink is notorious for releasing an upgrade with no documentation
>in sight.