User's Manual Part 1
Table Of Contents
- Local Disk
- Contents: Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection Adapter User's Guide
- About Wireless LAN Technology
- Software Installation
- Troubleshooting
- Connecting to a Network using Intel(R) PROSet
- Using Wireless Profiles in Intel(R) PROSet
- Security
- Setting Up Security
- Specifications
- Glossary
- Customer Support
- Regulatory Information
- Warranty
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption and shared authentication provides
protection for your data on the network. WEP uses an encryption key to encrypt data
before transmitting it. Only computers using the same encryption key can access the
network or decrypt the encrypted data transmitted by other computers. Authentication
provides an additional validation process from the adapter to the access point.
Supported a authentication schemes are Open and Shared-Key authentication:
● Shared-Key authentication is supported using 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption
keys.
● Open mode does not use an encryption authentication method to associate to a
specific access point.
Network Keys
When Data Encryption (WEP, CKIP or TKIP) is enabled, a network key is used for
encryption. A network key can be provided for you automatically (for example, it might be
provided on your wireless network adapter, or enter it yourself and specify the key length
(64-bits or 128-bit), key format (ASCII characters or hexadecimal digits), and key index
(the location where a specific key is stored). The longer the key length, the more secure
the key. Every time the length of a key is increased by one bit, the number of possible
keys double. Under 802.11, a wireless station can be configured with up to four keys (the
key index values are 1, 2, 3, and 4). When an access point or a wireless station transmits
an encrypted message using a key that is stored in a specific key index, the transmitted
message indicates the key index that was used to encrypt the message body. The
receiving access point or wireless station can then retrieve the key that is stored at the
key index and use it to decode the encrypted message body.
Encryption Static and Dynamic Key Types
802.1x uses two types of encryption keys, static and dynamic. Static encryption keys are
changed manually and are more vulnerable. MD5 authentication only uses static
encryption keys. Dynamic encryption keys are renewed automatically on a periodic basis.
This makes the encryption key(s) more secure. To enable dynamic encryption keys, you
must use 802.1x certificate-based authentication methods, such as TLS or TTLS or
PEAP.
802.1x Authentication