User guide

Wireless Setup
102 Firebox X Edge e-Series
About wireless security settings
The Firebox X Edge e-Series Wireless uses three security protocol standards to protect your wireless network.
They are WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), and WPA2. Each protocol standard
can encrypt the transmissions on the wireless LAN between the computers and the access points. They also
can prevent unauthorized access to the wireless access point.
WEP and WPA each use pre-shared keys, but WPA and WPA2 use an algorithm to change the encryption key
at regular intervals. This keeps the data sent on a wireless connection more secure.
To protect privacy, you can use these features together with other LAN security mechanisms such as password
protection, VPN tunnels, and user authentication.
Set the wireless authentication method
Five authentication methods are available in the Firebox X Edge e-Series Wireless. We recommend that you
use WPA2 if possible because it is the most secure. The five available methods, from least secure to most
secure, are:
Open System
Open System authentication allows any user to authenticate with the access point. This method can
be used with no encryption, or with WEP encryption.
Shared Key
In Shared Key authentication, only those wireless clients that have the shared key can connect.
Shared Key authentication can be used only with WEP encryption.
WPA ONLY (PSK)
When you use WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) with pre-shared keys, each wireless user is given the
same password to authenticate to the wireless access point.
WPA/WPA2 (PSK)
When you select WPA/WPA2 (PSK) authentication, the Edge accepts connections from wireless
devices configured to use WPA or WPA2.
WPA2 ONLY (PSK)
WPA2 authentication with pre-shared keys implements the full 802.11i standard and is the most
secure authentication method. It does not work with some older wireless network cards.
Set the encryption level
From the Encryption drop-down list, select the level of encryption for your wireless connections. The options
change when you use different authentication mechanisms. The Edge automatically creates a random
encryption key for you when a key is required. You can use this key, or change it to a key you prefer. Each
wireless client must use this same key when they connect to the Edge.