Description: This article contains some of the most frequently asked questions about Wireless Network Security from Winter 2019.

Q: Why should I protect my Wireless Network?
A: Wireless security is important in preventing unauthorized use of your Internet connection. Many people can hack your other devices if they are connected to your network or use your Internet for unsanctioned activities.

Q: What security options do I have?
A: Many routers offer a few selections, WEP, WPA, and WPA2. The recommended option is the WPA2 standard or personal.

Q: Is Encryption the same as Security?
A: Yes, encryption is a required option once the security method is chosen.

Q: Do I have to use a Security method?
A: No, there are many public networks available, however, if you use an open network, anyone nearby will be able to connect to and use your network.

Q: What is WEP?
A: WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy, which was one of the first attempts at securing a wireless network. These keys typically were either 12 or 14 characters utilizing the numbers zero to nine (0-9) and the letters A to F.

Q: What is WPA?
A: WPA stands for Wireless Protected Access, which was released after WEP. Keys typically utilized 256 bit encryption which was much stronger than the 64 or 128 bit that WEP offered. This allowed the use of two encryption methods, TKIP and AES.

Q: What is WPA2?
A: WPA2 is a newer standard that eliminates TKIP and requires AES encryption. It is stronger than WPA because it requires the stronger encryption types. Support for this became mandatory in 2006.

Q: What is TKIP Encryption?
A: TKIP stands for Temporal Key Integrity Protocol, this addressed one concern of WEP using short keys, by requiring longer 128 bit ones. TKIP would change the key per packet so the constant changing was also considered harder to crack.

Q: What is AES Encryption?
A: AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard, and offers 128, 192, and 256 bit key options; However most routers do not provide an option to specify this length and requires the more secure 256 option. This equates to either a 8-63 character password.

Q: What is EAP?
A: EAP stands for Extensible Authentication Protocol, instead of a password many organizations may prefer to use EAP. This allows a sever to handle the authentication on the network instead of everyone using a single passphrase.

Q: Why are there two options for each WPA standard?
A: Each option specifies a different authentication method. Personal or Pre-Shared Key (PSK), uses a single passphrase that would be used to authenticate the network. Enterprise or EAP, requires a separate server to be specified and configured to authorized users on the network.

Q: Why wouldn’t I use WPA2?
A: Compatibility. Though highly unlikely, there is a chance an older device doesn’t support WPA2 which would then require you to use either WPA or WEP.