NETGEAR MA701 User Manual page 32

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption is utilized when the wireless
nodes or access points are configured to operate in Shared Key authentication
mode. There are two shared key methods implemented in most commercially
available products, forty-bit WEP data encryption and 128-bit WEP data
encryption.
The forty-bit WEP data encryption method, allows for a five-character (forty-bit)
input. Additionally, 24 factory-set bits are added to the forty-bit input to
generate a 64-bit encryption key. (The 24 factory-set bits are not user
configurable.) This encryption key will be used to encrypt/decrypt all data
transmitted via the wireless interface. Some vendors may refer to the forty-bit
WEP data encryption as 64-bit WEP data encryption since the actual encryption
key used in the encryption process is 64 bits wide.
The 128-bit WEP data encryption method consists of 104 configurable bits.
Similar to the forty-bit WEP data encryption method, the remaining 24 bits are
factory set and not user configurable. Some vendors allow passphrases to be
entered instead of the cryptic hexadecimal characters to ease encryption key
entry.
Encryption Key
Size
Hexadecimal Digits
64-bit
(24+40)
128-bit
(24+104)
# of
Example of Hexadecimal Key Content
10 4C72F08AE1
26 4C72F08AE19D57A3FF6B260037
31