Figure 7-7 shows a typical wireless encryption setup page.
Now, Vista understands several different types of wireless encryption,
all used to prevent intruders from connecting to or spying on your wireless
network unless they have your secret encryption key. Of course,
some are better than others; see the upcoming ???Choosing the Right
Encryption Scheme: WEP, WPA, or WPA2???? sidebar for details.
13. Once you??™ve enabled wireless encryption, you??™ll need to choose a key or
passphrase.
With WPA or WPA2, you type a word or a phrase into your router??™s
setup page, and then type the same word or phrase into Windows to
connect, as described in ???Sniff Out WiFi Hotspots,??? next. (In
Figure 7-7, I chose ???Beware of the Leopard!??? as my passphrase.) The
stronger the passphrase you enter, the more secure your wireless network
will be. A WPA passphrase can be 8??“63 characters (bytes) long,
but the 802.11i standard recommends a passphrase at least 20 characters
long to deter practical attacks.
Figure 7-7. Configure your wireless router??™s encryption settings to prevent others from
connecting to your wireless network without your permission
Build Your Network | 355
Networking and
Internet
Choosing the Right Encryption Scheme: WEP,WPA, orWPA2?
Encrypting your wireless network accomplishes two things: it helps keep out
leeches who would otherwise use your WiFi for free Internet, and it helps prevent
intruders from breaking into your system to snoop around your PC.
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