Wireless Lan Security - SMC Networks SMC EZ Connect N Pro Draft 11n Wireless CardBus Adapter SMCWCB-N2 User Manual

Wireless LAN Security

Because wireless networks are not as secure as wired networks, it's vital that security settings
are clearly understood and applied.
The list below shows the possible wireless security levels on your SMCWCB-N2 starting with the
most secure. EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) is used for authentication and utilizes
dynamic WEP key exchange. EAP requires interaction with a RADIUS (Remote Authentication
Dial-In User Service) server either on the WAN or the LAN to provide authentication service for
wireless stations.
1. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2)
2. IEEE802.1X EAP with RADIUS Server authentication
3. WEP Encryption
4 . Unique ESSID
D E
ATA NCRYPTION WITH
The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) security protocol is an encryption method designed to try to
make wireless networks as secure as wired networks. WEP encryption scrambles all data packets
transmitted between the SMCWCB-N2 and the access point or other wireless stations to keep
network communications private. Both the wireless stations and the access points must use the
same WEP key for data encryption and decryption.
There are two ways to create WEP keys in your SMCWCB-N2.
•
Automatic WEP key generation based on a password phrase called a passphrase. The
passphrase is case sensitive. You must use the same passphrase for all WLAN adapters
with this feature in the same WLAN.
•
For WLAN adapters without the passphrase feature, you can still take advantage of this
feature by writing down the four automatically generated WEP keys from the Security
Settings screen of the wireless utility and entering them manually as the WEP keys in the
other WLAN adapter(s).
The SMCWCB-N2 allows you to configure up to four WEP keys and only one key is used as the
default transmit key at any one time.
D
O NOT ATTEMPT TO CONFIGURE OR CHANGE SECURITY SETTTINGS FOR A
NETWORK WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION AND WITHOUT CLEARLY UNDERSTANDING
THE SETTINGS YOU ARE APPLING.
DATA YOU SEND CAN BE SEEN BY OTHERS.
W E P
W
ITH POOR SECURITY SETTINGS, SENSITIVE
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