WEP and WPA encryption?

[computerrepair]

What are WEP and WPA encryption, and which should I use?

[Rapidz]

WPA is the way to go.

There is a big difference on how the keys handle, to put it simply WEP can be decrypted (hacked) a lot faster than WPA. It's to do with temporary and static keys which you dont really need to know.

The only disadvantage of WPA is that very old wireless devices cant connect to WPA, but that shouldn't be a problem cause most devices use WPA.

Trust me, WPA is ALOT harder to crack than WEP.

[Comp_Pro]

WEP can be hacked in about 5 minutes. I have done it before to my friends wireless, with his permission of course.

Think of it like this.

Wep = You lock the door to your house but leave your windows wide open
WPA = You lock your door and windows and have a police man outside your house. Sure people can break in but its a lot harder

[~Darkseeker~]

^ or WPA2, which is like having unbreakable glass windows and an armed response squad outside your house.

[MRDumb]

WEP is the original Wi-Fi encryption standard and should be avoided. WPA is better and is acceptable if the Wi-Fi router lets you use a truely random password of 13 characters or more. WPA2 using AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) using a truly random password is what you want.

[Tommy Boy]

Plus with WPA you can create your own password instead of a randomly generated mix of letters and numbers, handy if you have people over to your house who want to connect to your wireless with a laptop or a smartphone or something.

[Comp_Pro]

Originally Posted by ~Darkseeker~

^ or WPA2, which is like having unbreakable glass windows and an armed response squad outside your house.

There is no difference in WPA and WPA2. They both use the exact same encryption method and authentication.

[~Darkseeker~]

Difference between WPA AES and WPA2 - Wireless Security | DSLReports Forums

[dustin88]

Wpa is better, and even harder to break setups have become extremely vulnerable lately.. especially Linux savvy people, if they want into your wireless.. it only takes 10-15 minutes, the best way to reduce hacking is change your password often. only have your router broadcasting at a power level that's needed for your setting, to prevent over extending your range. and monitor your access once in a while, check connected devices. and if someone that you dont want on your network is, just document the information (ip mac address, names ect) and you can turn it over to authorities. i have had to do it before, while living in texas, had a few inexperienced college kids try to use my wireless network, and they ended up having the cops on there door the next morning. its a scary thing, in most states using someone elses network without permission is comparable to breaking an entering, witch is a nasty crime