Of course, most wireless routers have encryption turned off by default, so any
choice you make is better than none at all. The three prevailing standards for
wireless encryption??”all supported by Vista out of the box??”are:
WEP
Wired Equivalent Privacy (or Wireless Encryption Protocol) is the original
protection scheme included with early wireless routers, and it is also
the weakest. With the right software, an intruder can easily break into a
WEP-protected network in a few minutes using the Related-key attack.
Use WEP only if you have older PCs or devices that don??™t support WPA,
described next.
WPA
WiFi Protected Access was established as a stopgap measure to remedy
the vulnerabilities in WEP. If you have any Windows XP machines on
your network, they??™ll need Service Pack 2 to connect to a WPAencrypted
network.
WPA2/PSK
Also known as 802.11i or PSK for Pre-Shared Key, WPA2 is the completed
form of WPA, and is considered the strongest nonproprietary
encryption scheme for 802.11x wireless networks. Any wireless products
certified after March 2006 are supposed to fully support WPA2. WPA2
is supported under Windows XP if the WPA2/WPS IE update (available
at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/893357) is installed. Macs will need
AirPort 4.2 or later to use WPA.
Those using WPA or WPA2 will have a choice between the Personal and
Enterprise varieties. As enticing as Enterprise may sound, it requires a
RADIUS server typically used only in large companies, making Personal the
proper choice for most home and small-business networks.
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