Linksys WCF12 User Manual page 13

ENCRYPTION
The Encryption screen allows you to customize security settings. Use this
screen to generate 64-bit or 128-bit WEP keys.
An acronym for Wired Equivalent Privacy, WEP is an encryption scheme used
to protect your wireless data communications. WEP uses a combination of 64-
bit or 128-bit keys to control network access and provide encryption security
for every data transmission. To decode a data transmission, each point (device)
in a network must use an identical 64-bit or 128-bit key. Higher encryption lev-
els mean higher levels of security, but, due to the complexity of the encryption,
they may mean decreased network performance.
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Instant Wireless
Figure 4-7
Series Wireless CompactFlash Card
TM
Encryption (WEP) You have three choices: Disabled, 64-bit, or 128-bit WEP
encryption. Select the option you wish to use.
If you enable WEP encryption, then you can choose to create the encryption
keys using a passphrase or create the encryption keys manually.
Create Keys with Passphrase The Passphrase can be any text string with a
maximum of 31 alphanumeric characters.
Create Keys Manually Click Alphanumeric if you are using an alphanumer-
ic phrase, or click Hexadecimal if you are using a hexadecimal number. Enter
an alphanumeric phrase or hexadecimal number for each key that you wish to
encrypt. (Hexadecimal numbers are comprised of numbers 0-9 and letters A-F.)
Make sure that the values entered in these key fields are identical to the encryp-
tion keys used on the other wireless devices in the network.
Once you have chosen your key encryption method and entered either the
Passphrase or Manual Key(s), click the Apply button to save your changes or
Undo to delete them. To save your changes and close the Configuration Utility,
click the OK button.
Creating and using the passphrase is recommended for easy
Note:
WEP configuration and security purposes.
Important: All the devices in your wireless network must have iden-
tical keys, so they can communicate with each other.
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