WEP Key

john

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Every Internet article I read on WEP assails me with the
necessity of using "secure" WEP keys from random hex number
generators, etc. Since the probability of a "hacker" living
within 100 yards of me is practically zero, I only want to keep
out the average Joe Doe. My impression (but not certainty) is
that ANY group of numbers and letters is a hexadecimal number if
a user or program wishes to treat it as such. Therefore, my
question is: When asked to enter a 10 character hex WEP Key, is
something like "SamJones11" workable?

Thanks,
John
 

john

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On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 15:10:45 -0700, John <john@nospam.net> wrote:

>Every Internet article I read on WEP assails me with the
>necessity of using "secure" WEP keys from random hex number
>generators, etc. Since the probability of a "hacker" living
>within 100 yards of me is practically zero, I only want to keep
>out the average Joe Doe. My impression (but not certainty) is
>that ANY group of numbers and letters is a hexadecimal number if
>a user or program wishes to treat it as such. Therefore, my
>question is: When asked to enter a 10 character hex WEP Key, is
>something like "SamJones11" workable?



Thanks, Jim, Barry, Jeff. I knew that A-F restriction, once.
Really. :)

John
 
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ugh...i hate wep and their dang hex keys...

no the "samjones11" won't work because it isn't hexadecimal.

hexadecimal is represented by numerals 0-9 and letters A-F only.

good luck

jtm


"John" <john@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:0uudf0981h5ja5lukr9vum4rhvj0eb985r@4ax.com...
[...]

When asked to enter a 10 character hex WEP Key, is
something like "SamJones11" workable?

Thanks,
John
 
G

Guest

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On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 15:10:45 -0700, John wrote:

> Every Internet article I read on WEP assails me with the
> necessity of using "secure" WEP keys from random hex number
> generators, etc. Since the probability of a "hacker" living
> within 100 yards of me is practically zero, I only want to keep
> out the average Joe Doe. My impression (but not certainty) is
> that ANY group of numbers and letters is a hexadecimal number if
> a user or program wishes to treat it as such. Therefore, my
> question is: When asked to enter a 10 character hex WEP Key, is
> something like "SamJones11" workable?
>
> Thanks,
> John

No, that's my son's name. You'll have to ask him first. It's also not a hex
string, which consists of the digits 0 through 9 and the letters a through
f. On the other hand, if you are referring to a pass phrase, which your
router's config utility may ask for, then you can certainly use a name. The
utility will encode the name into a series of hex digits, and the result
will be the WEP key. You'll have to copy down the hex key, and enter it
into the clients' config utilities.

Hope that helps.

Barry Jones
 
G

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On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 15:10:45 -0700, John <john@nospam.net> wrote:

>Every Internet article I read on WEP assails me with the
>necessity of using "secure" WEP keys from random hex number
>generators, etc. Since the probability of a "hacker" living
>within 100 yards of me is practically zero, I only want to keep
>out the average Joe Doe.

Now days, hacking is done in a vehicle with Netstumbler and a laptop.
No need to live nearby. Once you are discovered, the rest is a matter
of capturing enough traffic to recover the WEP key.

>My impression (but not certainty) is
>that ANY group of numbers and letters is a hexadecimal number if
>a user or program wishes to treat it as such. Therefore, my
>question is: When asked to enter a 10 character hex WEP Key, is
>something like "SamJones11" workable?

Nope. It's not in hexidismal. You need to use number 0->9 and the
letters A->F. Try not to use something repeative as it's easily
cracked.


--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# 831.421.6491 digital_pager jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS
 

gary

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Looking over some of the answers you've gotten, I think some miss the point.
You are saying that you have read some articles indicating that you should
use keys generated by a random hex number generator. This issue is separate
from the issue of how you configure the key into the client or the AP.

The reason the articles urge you to use a random key generator is that if
you select a meaningful text string, it is very likely to be a dictionary
word, or a concatenation of dictionary words. You might be surprised at how
much this simplifies the task of cracking the key, especially if you use a
64-bit (sometimes called 40-bit) key. It reduces the total keyspace to a
much smaller number of potential keys, which can be searched by brute force.
A random key generator will generate an arbitrary sequence of hexadecimal
digits, and there are far more of these than there are simple ASCII text
strings. Even so, as someone else pointed out, if you use a random 64-bit
hex key, it's still looks quite feasible to crack it by brute force in under
an hour.

Use the longest allowed length, 128 bits at least, and use a randomly
selected hex key. Some clients and APs provide a passphrase generator
(Netgear, Linksys, for example). These take an ASCII string and generate
pseudorandom hex keys. I understand that many of these generators are
derived from the Linksys algorithm. In any case, if you use simple
dictionary words to seed such a passphrase generator, your key can still be
brute-forced, because hackers also have the generators. Use a seed that is
as random as possible.

If you enter keys by hand, your config menu may allow you to select between
ASCII and hex data entry. D-Link supports this.

"John" <john@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:0uudf0981h5ja5lukr9vum4rhvj0eb985r@4ax.com...
> Every Internet article I read on WEP assails me with the
> necessity of using "secure" WEP keys from random hex number
> generators, etc. Since the probability of a "hacker" living
> within 100 yards of me is practically zero, I only want to keep
> out the average Joe Doe. My impression (but not certainty) is
> that ANY group of numbers and letters is a hexadecimal number if
> a user or program wishes to treat it as such. Therefore, my
> question is: When asked to enter a 10 character hex WEP Key, is
> something like "SamJones11" workable?
>
> Thanks,
> John
>
 
G

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gary wrote:
> Looking over some of the answers you've gotten, I think some miss the point.
> You are saying that you have read some articles indicating that you should
> use keys generated by a random hex number generator. This issue is separate
> from the issue of how you configure the key into the client or the AP.
>
> The reason the articles urge you to use a random key generator is that if
> you select a meaningful text string, it is very likely to be a dictionary
> word, or a concatenation of dictionary words. You might be surprised at how
> much this simplifies the task of cracking the key, especially if you use a
> 64-bit (sometimes called 40-bit) key. It reduces the total keyspace to a
> much smaller number of potential keys, which can be searched by brute force.
> A random key generator will generate an arbitrary sequence of hexadecimal
> digits, and there are far more of these than there are simple ASCII text
> strings. Even so, as someone else pointed out, if you use a random 64-bit
> hex key, it's still looks quite feasible to crack it by brute force in under
> an hour.
>
> Use the longest allowed length, 128 bits at least, and use a randomly
> selected hex key. Some clients and APs provide a passphrase generator
> (Netgear, Linksys, for example). These take an ASCII string and generate
> pseudorandom hex keys. I understand that many of these generators are
> derived from the Linksys algorithm. In any case, if you use simple
> dictionary words to seed such a passphrase generator, your key can still be
> brute-forced, because hackers also have the generators. Use a seed that is
> as random as possible.
>
> If you enter keys by hand, your config menu may allow you to select between
> ASCII and hex data entry. D-Link supports this.
>
> "John" <john@nospam.net> wrote in message
> news:0uudf0981h5ja5lukr9vum4rhvj0eb985r@4ax.com...
>
>>Every Internet article I read on WEP assails me with the
>>necessity of using "secure" WEP keys from random hex number
>>generators, etc. Since the probability of a "hacker" living
>>within 100 yards of me is practically zero, I only want to keep
>>out the average Joe Doe. My impression (but not certainty) is
>>that ANY group of numbers and letters is a hexadecimal number if
>>a user or program wishes to treat it as such. Therefore, my
>>question is: When asked to enter a 10 character hex WEP Key, is
>>something like "SamJones11" workable?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>John
>>
>
>
>
D-Link tech support told me not to use ASCII WEP key entry if you have
Windows XP - there is a problem. Use HEX keys instead.
 

gary

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"Lance Courtland" <oscarman4@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:j_EJc.88539$IQ4.79530@attbi_s02...
> gary wrote:
> > Looking over some of the answers you've gotten, I think some miss the
point.
> > You are saying that you have read some articles indicating that you
should
> > use keys generated by a random hex number generator. This issue is
separate
> > from the issue of how you configure the key into the client or the AP.
> >
> > The reason the articles urge you to use a random key generator is that
if
> > you select a meaningful text string, it is very likely to be a
dictionary
> > word, or a concatenation of dictionary words. You might be surprised at
how
> > much this simplifies the task of cracking the key, especially if you use
a
> > 64-bit (sometimes called 40-bit) key. It reduces the total keyspace to a
> > much smaller number of potential keys, which can be searched by brute
force.
> > A random key generator will generate an arbitrary sequence of
hexadecimal
> > digits, and there are far more of these than there are simple ASCII text
> > strings. Even so, as someone else pointed out, if you use a random
64-bit
> > hex key, it's still looks quite feasible to crack it by brute force in
under
> > an hour.
> >
> > Use the longest allowed length, 128 bits at least, and use a randomly
> > selected hex key. Some clients and APs provide a passphrase generator
> > (Netgear, Linksys, for example). These take an ASCII string and generate
> > pseudorandom hex keys. I understand that many of these generators are
> > derived from the Linksys algorithm. In any case, if you use simple
> > dictionary words to seed such a passphrase generator, your key can still
be
> > brute-forced, because hackers also have the generators. Use a seed that
is
> > as random as possible.
> >
> > If you enter keys by hand, your config menu may allow you to select
between
> > ASCII and hex data entry. D-Link supports this.
> >
> > "John" <john@nospam.net> wrote in message
> > news:0uudf0981h5ja5lukr9vum4rhvj0eb985r@4ax.com...
> >
> >>Every Internet article I read on WEP assails me with the
> >>necessity of using "secure" WEP keys from random hex number
> >>generators, etc. Since the probability of a "hacker" living
> >>within 100 yards of me is practically zero, I only want to keep
> >>out the average Joe Doe. My impression (but not certainty) is
> >>that ANY group of numbers and letters is a hexadecimal number if
> >>a user or program wishes to treat it as such. Therefore, my
> >>question is: When asked to enter a 10 character hex WEP Key, is
> >>something like "SamJones11" workable?
> >>
> >>Thanks,
> >>John
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> D-Link tech support told me not to use ASCII WEP key entry if you have
> Windows XP - there is a problem. Use HEX keys instead.

This may depend on the adapter. I've used random ASCII strings on my AG650
without problem. I finally wrote a few lines of C to generate random hex
keys.
 
G

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On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 02:15:26 GMT, "gary" <pleasenospam@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

>> D-Link tech support told me not to use ASCII WEP key entry if you have
>> Windows XP - there is a problem. Use HEX keys instead.

I'd be interested in knowing what model D-Link's are affected and what
manner of problem they're having.

>This may depend on the adapter. I've used random ASCII strings on my AG650
>without problem. I finally wrote a few lines of C to generate random hex
>keys.

Well, there are a bunch of online WEP key generators.
http://www.warewolflabs.com/portfolio/programming/wepskg/wepskg.html

http://www.warewolflabs.com/portfolio/programming/wepskg/wepskg_v21.zip
https://www.wireless.org.au/~jhecker/wepgen/index.php
http://www.clariondeveloper.com/wepgen/
http://www.wincatalog.com/pasgen.html?source=pasgen124
http://www.powerdog.com/wepkey.cgi
http://homepage.mac.com/chally/toolsandutils.html (for Mac)

Stolen from the PracticallyNetworked.com web pile:

One ASCII Character is Eight (8) Bits
One HEX Character is Four (4) Bits
40 or 64 bit ASCII WEP code has 5 characters
40 or 64 bit HEX WEP code has 10 characters
128 bit ASCII WEP code has 13 characters
128 bit HEX WEP code has 26 characters




--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# 831.421.6491 digital_pager jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS
 

gary

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"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in message
news:g4fef09jenhsi2lgopjsa63nlma1s2quhr@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 02:15:26 GMT, "gary" <pleasenospam@sbcglobal.net>
> wrote:
>
> >> D-Link tech support told me not to use ASCII WEP key entry if you have
> >> Windows XP - there is a problem. Use HEX keys instead.
>
> I'd be interested in knowing what model D-Link's are affected and what
> manner of problem they're having.
>
> >This may depend on the adapter. I've used random ASCII strings on my
AG650
> >without problem. I finally wrote a few lines of C to generate random hex
> >keys.
>
> Well, there are a bunch of online WEP key generators.

True. But it only requires a few lines of C using rand() or srand(). That's
probably why there are so many - it's a trivial wheel to reinvent. I needed
an excuse to test the gnu compiler I loaded with Cygwin.

> http://www.warewolflabs.com/portfolio/programming/wepskg/wepskg.html
>
> http://www.warewolflabs.com/portfolio/programming/wepskg/wepskg_v21.zip
> https://www.wireless.org.au/~jhecker/wepgen/index.php
> http://www.clariondeveloper.com/wepgen/
> http://www.wincatalog.com/pasgen.html?source=pasgen124
> http://www.powerdog.com/wepkey.cgi
> http://homepage.mac.com/chally/toolsandutils.html (for Mac)
>
> Stolen from the PracticallyNetworked.com web pile:
>
> One ASCII Character is Eight (8) Bits
> One HEX Character is Four (4) Bits
> 40 or 64 bit ASCII WEP code has 5 characters
> 40 or 64 bit HEX WEP code has 10 characters
> 128 bit ASCII WEP code has 13 characters
> 128 bit HEX WEP code has 26 characters
>
>
>
>
> --
> # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
> # 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> # jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
> # 831.421.6491 digital_pager jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS
 
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Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 02:15:26 GMT, "gary" <pleasenospam@sbcglobal.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>>>D-Link tech support told me not to use ASCII WEP key entry if you have
>>>Windows XP - there is a problem. Use HEX keys instead.
>
>
> I'd be interested in knowing what model D-Link's are affected and what
> manner of problem they're having.

Jeff:

I'm using a D-Link DWL-2100AP Access Point connected to a d-Link
DI-704P Router on a Win98SE machine. The Dell laptop is running Win XP
Pro with a a DWL-G650 cardbus adapter. The only thing they said was
"use hex keys - ASCII doesn't work very well".

Lance Courtland
 
G

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On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 04:02:05 GMT, Lance Courtland
<oscarman4@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I'm using a D-Link DWL-2100AP Access Point connected to a d-Link
>DI-704P Router on a Win98SE machine. The Dell laptop is running Win XP
>Pro with a a DWL-G650 cardbus adapter. The only thing they said was
>"use hex keys - ASCII doesn't work very well".

Now all I have to do is figure out what they mean by "doesn't work
very well". It either works or it doesn't, with no grades of
malfunction in between. I know some of the drivers do not include an
ASCII key generator but I think DLink has them. My guess(tm) is that
there was some creativity or difference in the ASCII to hexadecimal
WEP key conversion on either MS XP or D-Link. It's fairly difficult
to screw up something that simple, but it's possible.

I have a DWL-G650 and a DWL-900AP+ in stock. Close enough. Time
permitting, I'll give an ASCII key a try and see what breaks.

Thanks much.


--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# 831.421.6491 digital_pager jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS
 
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"John" <john@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:0uudf0981h5ja5lukr9vum4rhvj0eb985r@4ax.com...
> Every Internet article I read on WEP assails me with the
> necessity of using "secure" WEP keys from random hex number
> generators, etc. Since the probability of a "hacker" living
> within 100 yards of me is practically zero, I only want to keep
> out the average Joe Doe.

I dont broadcast my SSID, let 'them' figure it out...
 

gary

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"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in message
news:54oef01bksgi2sj9q1kvuk87j9vp1p91id@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 04:02:05 GMT, Lance Courtland
> <oscarman4@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >I'm using a D-Link DWL-2100AP Access Point connected to a d-Link
> >DI-704P Router on a Win98SE machine. The Dell laptop is running Win XP
> >Pro with a a DWL-G650 cardbus adapter. The only thing they said was
> >"use hex keys - ASCII doesn't work very well".
>
> Now all I have to do is figure out what they mean by "doesn't work
> very well". It either works or it doesn't, with no grades of
> malfunction in between. I know some of the drivers do not include an
> ASCII key generator but I think DLink has them. My guess(tm) is that
> there was some creativity or difference in the ASCII to hexadecimal
> WEP key conversion on either MS XP or D-Link. It's fairly difficult
> to screw up something that simple, but it's possible.

D-Link support has told me fairy tales in the past. The quality of the
information you get from them depends on the luck of the draw. I've had an
AG650 for a year and a half. I used to use ASCII key entry exclusively,
never had a single problem. I find it hard to believe that there is any
significant difference between the G650 and the AG650 config software. I've
used it both with original version and latest upgrades.

I'm not sure what you mean by "ASCII to hex WEP key conversion". If you
enter a 5-character ASCII string in D-Link config, the bytes of this string
are used directly as the 40-bit fixed key portion. It's not a key generator,
it's simple key entry, no conversion. How can that get screwed up? I suppose
if you embed blanks you might get unexpected results, but that would be an
unlikely exceptional case, hardly justifying the claim that it's broken.
>
> I have a DWL-G650 and a DWL-900AP+ in stock. Close enough. Time
> permitting, I'll give an ASCII key a try and see what breaks.
>
> Thanks much.
>
>
> --
> # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
> # 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> # jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
> # 831.421.6491 digital_pager jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS
 
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On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 14:42:30 GMT, "gary" <pleasenospam@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

>D-Link support has told me fairy tales in the past.

I rarely call support, so I miss this part of the troubleshooting
adventure. I prefer to Google for recycled user experiences and
over-drawn conclusions, for clues. In general, methinks tech support
has hit an all time low since almost all of it is now outsourced.

>I'm not sure what you mean by "ASCII to hex WEP key conversion".
(...)
>How can that get screwed up?

Sorry. That was my failed attempt at techy humor. There is no
conversion. Yet, I suspect some errant programmist is capable of bit
shifting, truncating, or otherwise screwing up what may be the
simplest exercise in programming possible. I saw this in some
unrelease code, where the 128bit ASCII WEP key magically went from the
normal 26 characters, to 13 characters thanks to the author using
Unicode libraries (2 bytes per character). Every other byte was 00.

If you wanna look for bugs, you'll find that most radios correctly
accept 32 characters for the SSID. However, there are a few losers
(i.e. SMC7004AWR) that will only take 31 because they included the
null string terminator in the count. Not a big deal unless you use
disgustingly long SSID's.

Moral: There's always a way to do it wrong.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558
 

gary

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"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in message
news:d7uff05tt7etlfpqjdr0naba4dearafla5@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 14:42:30 GMT, "gary" <pleasenospam@sbcglobal.net>
> wrote:
>
> >D-Link support has told me fairy tales in the past.
>
> I rarely call support, so I miss this part of the troubleshooting
> adventure. I prefer to Google for recycled user experiences and
> over-drawn conclusions, for clues. In general, methinks tech support
> has hit an all time low since almost all of it is now outsourced.
>
> >I'm not sure what you mean by "ASCII to hex WEP key conversion".
> (...)
> >How can that get screwed up?
>
> Sorry. That was my failed attempt at techy humor. There is no
> conversion. Yet, I suspect some errant programmist is capable of bit
> shifting, truncating, or otherwise screwing up what may be the
> simplest exercise in programming possible. I saw this in some
> unrelease code, where the 128bit ASCII WEP key magically went from the
> normal 26 characters, to 13 characters thanks to the author using
> Unicode libraries (2 bytes per character). Every other byte was 00.
>
> If you wanna look for bugs, you'll find that most radios correctly
> accept 32 characters for the SSID. However, there are a few losers
> (i.e. SMC7004AWR) that will only take 31 because they included the
> null string terminator in the count. Not a big deal unless you use
> disgustingly long SSID's.
>
> Moral: There's always a way to do it wrong.


Ain't it the truth. But if D-Link does any WEP testing at all, they'd have
to break things the same way on routers and clients in order for WEP to
appear to work at all. Since my AG650 also works with a friend's Netgear
router, using a variety of direct-entered ASCII keys, I'm guessing that
ASCII key entry is probably okay, and someone in Mumbai over-interpreted a
troubleshooting database item.

Their coders are at least as likely to get display-hex/binary conversion
wrong.

>
>
> --
> Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
> 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558
 
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On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 18:45:29 GMT, "gary" <pleasenospam@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

>Ain't it the truth. But if D-Link does any WEP testing at all, they'd have
>to break things the same way on routers and clients in order for WEP to
>appear to work at all.

Wrong. DLink gets their hardware and software from multiple vendors.
Zcom, Bromax, Nihon Dengwa, ad nausium. Just go to the FCC ID web
pile and stuff in a few prefixes used by DLink. They even have
multiple vendors for various mutations of the same product. (Don't
ask me how the FCC allows this manner of creativity without
recertification). Anyway, there's plenty of potential for creativity,
divergence, and the infamous regression testing.

>Since my AG650 also works with a friend's Netgear
>router, using a variety of direct-entered ASCII keys, I'm guessing that
>ASCII key entry is probably okay, and someone in Mumbai over-interpreted a
>troubleshooting database item.

They're not outsourced. They're employees of DLink in India:
http://www.dlink.co.in/dlink/Contacts/branches.htm
http://www.dlink.co.in/dlink/Corporate/employment.htm
http://www.dlink.co.in/dlink/software/job.htm

Support may actually be correct. I vaguely recall walking a customer
though a WEP setup using a Linksys something router and an HP laptop
with a Centrino incantation. WEP would work, but only if I used a
hexadecimal key. This was before the various wireless updates from
Microsoft and before several Linksys firmware updates, so I'm fairly
sure it was fixed long ago. However, it just proves that it can
happen.

>Their coders are at least as likely to get display-hex/binary conversion
>wrong.


--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# 831.421.6491 digital_pager jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS
 

gary

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

"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in message
news:esrgf099cf2h7ci3rorbbd046asoohn631@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 18:45:29 GMT, "gary" <pleasenospam@sbcglobal.net>
> wrote:
>
> >Ain't it the truth. But if D-Link does any WEP testing at all, they'd
have
> >to break things the same way on routers and clients in order for WEP to
> >appear to work at all.
>
> Wrong. DLink gets their hardware and software from multiple vendors.
> Zcom, Bromax, Nihon Dengwa, ad nausium. Just go to the FCC ID web
> pile and stuff in a few prefixes used by DLink. They even have
> multiple vendors for various mutations of the same product. (Don't
> ask me how the FCC allows this manner of creativity without
> recertification). Anyway, there's plenty of potential for creativity,
> divergence, and the infamous regression testing.

Yes, I know, didn't say different. My DI-774 router is such a beast. What I
meant was that, *if* ASCII key entry is seriously broken on the G650 client
card, then *if* they do any interoperability testing with routers they
market (whoever manufactures them), I would expect the G650 to fail unless
the routers are using the same data entry interface, broken in the same way.
How else would both sides end up with the same WEP key, if one of them uses
a seriously broken input method?

Wi-fi Alliance certification also involves a certain level of inter-vendor
interoperability testing, but I doubt if ASCII key entry is involved (basic
WEP functionality certainly is).

>
> >Since my AG650 also works with a friend's Netgear
> >router, using a variety of direct-entered ASCII keys, I'm guessing that
> >ASCII key entry is probably okay, and someone in Mumbai over-interpreted
a
> >troubleshooting database item.
>
> They're not outsourced. They're employees of DLink in India:
> http://www.dlink.co.in/dlink/Contacts/branches.htm
> http://www.dlink.co.in/dlink/Corporate/employment.htm
> http://www.dlink.co.in/dlink/software/job.htm

But they probably work in Mumbai. In any case, it's a Hong Kong outfit, so
in a sense, the whole company is outsourced. Along with several other
low-end commercial vendors. Nothing wrong with that, so long as everyone in
the company pulls their oars in the same direction (and at roughly the same
time).

>
> Support may actually be correct. I vaguely recall walking a customer
> though a WEP setup using a Linksys something router and an HP laptop
> with a Centrino incantation. WEP would work, but only if I used a
> hexadecimal key. This was before the various wireless updates from
> Microsoft and before several Linksys firmware updates, so I'm fairly
> sure it was fixed long ago. However, it just proves that it can
> happen.

Yup, it can. But if there were major problems, I would think I would have
run into them. I've used my AG650 against a bunch of different routers using
WEP ASCII key entry. I'll bet the config utilities for G650 and AG650 are
nearly identical, except for the 802.11a-related stuff.

Of course, Netgear released a USB router that wouldn't remember WEP
configurations across reboot. Which proves that these vendors don't invest a
lot of money in testing.

>
> >Their coders are at least as likely to get display-hex/binary conversion
> >wrong.
>
>
> --
> # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
> # 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> # jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
> # 831.421.6491 digital_pager jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS
 

Hactar

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

In article <g4fef09jenhsi2lgopjsa63nlma1s2quhr@4ax.com>,
Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote:
>
> Stolen from the PracticallyNetworked.com web pile:
>
> One ASCII Character is Eight (8) Bits
> One HEX Character is Four (4) Bits
> 40 or 64 bit ASCII WEP code has 5 characters
> 40 or 64 bit HEX WEP code has 10 characters
> 128 bit ASCII WEP code has 13 characters
> 128 bit HEX WEP code has 26 characters

Well yeah, but if you're limited to only the ASCII characters you can type,
then that's around a hundred characters -- about 6.6 bits' worth (instead of
8). Hex doesn't limit you at all.

--
-eben ebQenW1@EtaRmpTabYayU.rIr.OcoPm home.tampabay.rr.com/hactar

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