Wireless Security; What Is Wpa - D-Link D-Fend DIR-2680 User Manual

Appendix B - Networking Basics
This section will show you the different levels of security you can use to protect your data from intruders. The DIR-2680 offers the
following types of security:
• WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2)
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), is a Wi-Fi standard that was designed to improve the security features of WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy).
The 2 major improvements over WEP:
• Improved data encryption through the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). TKIP scrambles the keys using a hashing
algorithm and by adding an integrity-checking feature, ensures that the keys haven't been tampered with. WPA2 is
based on 802.11i and uses Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) instead of TKIP.
• User authentication, which is generally missing in WEP, through the extensible authentication protocol (EAP). WEP
regulates access to a wireless network based on a computer's hardware-specific MAC address, which is relatively simple
to be sniffed out and stolen. EAP is built on a more secure public-key encryption system to ensure that only authorized
network users can access the network.
WPA2-PSK uses a passphrase or key to authenticate your wireless connection. The key is an alpha-numeric password between 8 and 63
characters long. The password can include symbols (!?*&_) and spaces. This key must be the exact same key entered on your wireless
router or access point.
WPA2 incorporates user authentication through the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP). EAP is built on a more secure public key
encryption system to ensure that only authorized network users can access the network.
D-Link DIR-2680 User Manual

Wireless Security

• WPA2-PSK (Pre-Shared Key)

What is WPA?

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