User's Manual

Appendix C: Configuring Wireless
Security
An acronym for Wired Equivalent Privacy, WEP is an encryption method used
to protect your wireless data communications. WEP uses a combination of 64-
bit or 128-bit keys to provide access control to your network and encryption
security for every data transmission. To decode a data transmission, each point
in a network must use an identical 64-bit or 128-bit key. Higher encryption lev-
els mean higher levels of security, but due to the complexity of the encryption,
they may mean decreased network performance.
You may also have heard the term “40-bit” used in conjunction with WEP
encryption. This is simply another term for 64-bit WEP encryption. This level
of WEP encryption has been called 40-bit because it uses a 40-bit secret key
along with a 24-bit Initialization Vector (40 + 24 = 64). Wireless vendors may
use either name. Linksys uses the term “64-bit” when referring to this level of
encryption.
Make sure your wireless network is functioning before attempting to configure
WEP encryption.
A 128-bit WEP encrypted wireless network will NOT communicate with a 64-
bit WEP encrypted wireless network. Therefore, make sure that all of your
wireless devices are using the same encryption level. All wireless devices com-
plying with the 802.11b standard will support 64-bit WEP.
In addition to enabling WEP, Linksys also recommends the following security
implementations:
• Changing the SSID from the default “linksys”
• Changing the WEP key regularly
Note: WEP encryption is an additional data securi-
ty measure and not essential for router operation.
Note: In order for WEP Encryption to be enabled, wireless functions must
first be enabled. Select Enable under the Wireless section before proceeding.
Wireless Access Point Router with 4-Port Switch
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