Does WPA need hardware support?

Is WPA security dependent on the Wi-Fi hardware, or is it just
software? How come we don't see manufacturers update their older
802.11b hardware drivers to use WPA? Is there something specific that
needs to be present on the hardware for WPA to work?

Yousuf Khan

"YKhan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> Is WPA security dependent on the Wi-Fi hardware, or is it just
> software? How come we don't see manufacturers update their older
> 802.11b hardware drivers to use WPA? Is there something specific that
> needs to be present on the hardware for WPA to work?

It depends, some hardware manufacturers rely on windows for wpa support,
such as my belkin card, but some provide it and give you the option of using
windows or the software provided. WPA is software rather than hardward
AFAIK.

Daniel

First, this is, in part, a hardware issue.

Encryption involves a lot of calculation so just about all (if not all)
wi-fi devices have processors that can perform certain algorithms really
fast. TKIP is similar enough to WEP that processors that are used for WEP
encryption can sometimes be used for TKIP as well. This allows some older
wi-fi devices to support WPA with TKIP through a firmware and driver update.
However, the algorithm used for AES is completely different and most older
devices cannot support WPA with AES, which is also now known as WPA2. WPA
is also different enough from WEP that certain devices (usually USB or
stand-alone game adapters) may not be able to support it at all.

Second, this is, in part, a financial issue.

The wireless sector is highly competitive and profits, if there are any, are
minor. Products are really cheap and it may not make financial sense to
write new drivers and firmware for what are now outdated devices when
drivers and firmware are needed for a constant stream of new devices.

-Yves

"YKhan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> Is WPA security dependent on the Wi-Fi hardware, or is it just
> software? How come we don't see manufacturers update their older
> 802.11b hardware drivers to use WPA? Is there something specific that
> needs to be present on the hardware for WPA to work?
>
> Yousuf Khan
>

Daniel Bennett wrote:
> "YKhan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> > Is WPA security dependent on the Wi-Fi hardware, or is it just
> > software? How come we don't see manufacturers update their older
> > 802.11b hardware drivers to use WPA? Is there something specific
that
> > needs to be present on the hardware for WPA to work?
>
> It depends, some hardware manufacturers rely on windows for wpa
support,
> such as my belkin card, but some provide it and give you the option
of using
> windows or the software provided. WPA is software rather than
hardward
> AFAIK.

So you're saying that if I turn off the manufacturer's own security
features and go through Windows XP's built-in functions, then I can do
WPA on my old card?

Yousuf Khan

No. You need hardware that supports WPA, drivers that support WPA, and a
WPA supplicant. Windows XP comes with a supplicant. Some manufacturers
include a supplicant with their recent drivers to support WPA on older
versions of Windows. However, if the hardware and/or the drivers do not
support WPA then you cannot use WPA.

-Yves

"YKhan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> Daniel Bennett wrote:
>> "YKhan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
>> > Is WPA security dependent on the Wi-Fi hardware, or is it just
>> > software? How come we don't see manufacturers update their older
>> > 802.11b hardware drivers to use WPA? Is there something specific
> that
>> > needs to be present on the hardware for WPA to work?
>>
>> It depends, some hardware manufacturers rely on windows for wpa
> support,
>> such as my belkin card, but some provide it and give you the option
> of using
>> windows or the software provided. WPA is software rather than
> hardward
>> AFAIK.
>
> So you're saying that if I turn off the manufacturer's own security
> features and go through Windows XP's built-in functions, then I can do
> WPA on my old card?
>
> Yousuf Khan
>

YKhan wrote:
> Daniel Bennett wrote:
>
>>"YKhan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>news:(E-Mail Removed) groups.com...
>>
>>>Is WPA security dependent on the Wi-Fi hardware, or is it just
>>>software? How come we don't see manufacturers update their older
>>>802.11b hardware drivers to use WPA? Is there something specific
>
> that
>
>>>needs to be present on the hardware for WPA to work?
>>
>>It depends, some hardware manufacturers rely on windows for wpa
>
> support,
>
>>such as my belkin card, but some provide it and give you the option
>
> of using
>
>>windows or the software provided. WPA is software rather than
>
> hardward
>
>>AFAIK.
>
>
> So you're saying that if I turn off the manufacturer's own security
> features and go through Windows XP's built-in functions, then I can do
> WPA on my old card?
>
> Yousuf Khan
>

I may be wrong, but I understand provided it allows you to use windows
wireless configuration I don't see why not. Some cards like my laptops
dell 1310 card would only let me use the dell wireless utility when
using wpa, I couldn't get it to work using the windows utility. If thats
also the case with you and the cards utility doesn't support wpa, then
thats your answer, i think its easy enough to trying the windows config,
and if that fails revert back to the card manufacturers...


kind regards,

Daniel