Using the Wireless Networking Utility from Verizon
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WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)
WPA
is a new Wi-Fi standard that improves upon the security features
of WEP. To use WPA security, the drivers and software of your wireless
equipment must be upgraded to support it. These updates will be found
on your wireless vendor’s website. There are three types of WPA security:
WPA-PSK (no server), WPA (with radius server), and WPA2.
WPA-PSK (no server)
uses what is known as a pre-shared key as the
network key. A network key is a password that is between eight and
63 characters long. It can be a combination of letters, numbers, or
characters. Each client uses the same network key to access the network.
Typically, this is the mode that will be used in a home environment.
WPA (with radius server)
is a system where a radius server
distributes the network key to the clients automatically. This is
typically found in a business environment.
WPA2
requires Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for encryption
of data, which offers much greater security than WPA. WPA uses both
Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and (AES) for encryption.
Most Wi-Fi products ship with security turned off. So once you have your
network working, you need to activate WEP or WPA and make sure all your
wireless devices are sharing the same network key.
The following diagram shows the effect of not having the correct network
key throughout your network.
The Card cannot access the network because it uses a different network key than the
one configured on the wireless router.
IMPORTANT:
You must now set all wireless network cards/adapters
to match these settings.
Wireless G Router
Wireless G
Notebook Card
Wireless G
Desktop Card
Wireless G
Desktop Card
Network key=
WRONG Password
Network key=
MyPassword
Network key=
MyPassword
Network key=
MyPassword
