Belkin F5D7050_v3 User Manual page 26

Using the Belkin Wireless Networking Utility
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
WEP is a common protocol that adds security to all Wi-Fi-compliant
wireless products . WEP gives wireless networks the equivalent level of
privacy protection as a comparable wired network .
64-Bit WEP
WEP was first introduced with 64-bit encryption, which includes a key
length of 40 bits plus 24 additional bits of system-generated data (64 bits
total) . Some hardware manufacturers refer to 64-bit as 40-bit encryption .
Shortly after the technology was introduced, researchers found that 64-bit
encryption was too easy to decode .
128-Bit WEP
As a result of 64-bit WEP's potential security weaknesses, a more
secure method of 128-bit encryption was developed . 128-bit
encryption includes a key length of 104 bits plus 24 additional
bits of system-generated data (128 bits total) . Some hardware
manufacturers refer to 128-bit as 104-bit encryption .
Most of the new wireless equipment in the market today supports
both 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption, but you might have
older equipment that only supports 64-bit WEP . All Belkin wireless
products will support both 64-bit and 128-bit WEP .
Encryption Keys
After selecting either the 64-bit or 128-bit WEP encryption mode, it is
critical that you generate an encryption key . If the encryption key is
not consistent throughout the entire wireless network, your wireless
networking devices will be unable to communicate with one another .
You can enter your key by typing in the hex key manually, or you can
type a passphrase into the "Passphrase" field and click "Generate" to
create a key . A hex (hexadecimal) key is a combination of numbers and
letters from A–F and 0–9. For 64-bit WEP, you need to enter 10 hex keys.
For 128-bit WEP, you need to enter 26 hex keys .
For instance:
AF 0F 4B C3 D4 = 64-bit WEP key
C3 03 0F AF 0F 4B B2 C3 D4 4B C3 D4 E7 = 128-bit WEP key
The WEP passphrase is NOT the same as a WEP key . Your Adapter
uses this passphrase to generate your WEP keys, but different hardware
manufacturers might have different methods on generating the keys . If
you have multiple vendors' equipment in your network, the easiest thing
to do is to use the hex WEP key from your wireless router (or access
point) and enter it manually into the hex WEP key table in your Adapter's
configuration screen .
24 24