User manual

45D-Link DCS-942L User Manual
Section 5 - Security
What is WPA?
WPA,or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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-specic MAC address, which is relatively simple to be snied 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.
WPA-PSK/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.