Smirnoff wrote:
> "Smirnoff" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>
>> "Jim" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> "Smirnoff" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>> Sorry, this is double posted in bt.broadband support, now realise
>>>> that this is the best NG for this post.
>>>>
>>>> XP Pro, SP3, BT Hub, Belkin Wireless G card.
>>>>
>>>> I have a single user desktop and have installed the Windows WPA2
>>>> security
>>>> update:
>>>>
>>>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/893357
>>>>
>>>> Have also allowed Windows to handle my wireless connection, rather
>>>> than
>>>> my Belkin G wireless card utility. My BT Hub security is set to WPA2
>>>> only and I have a 63 character alpha-numeric security key.
>>>>
>>>> Everything is working OK, touch wood.
>>>>
>>>> Just a couple of points I'd like to get clear in my mind.
>>>>
>>>> 1. Bearing in mind that no laptop or other device is going to
>>>> connect
>>>> wirelessly, which data encryption is best to use, AES or TKIP, and
>>>> what's the difference?
>>>>
>>>> 2. Although everything is working OK, I thought it depended on the
>>>> lowest common denominator. To my knowledge, my Belkin Wireless G
>>>> card is
>>>> incapable of handling WPA2. Or, is it that the wireless card UTILITY
>>>> is
>>>> incapable of handling WPA2?
>>>> Do I assume that the Hub handles all the security and that the
>>>> Belkin card just picks up the resulting signal?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Q1: No device needs to connect to listen to the message stream. A
>>> reasonaby savvy lurker just downloads messages and tries to decrypt
>>> them. If I recall correctly, it is AES.
>>> Q2. It would be the card that is the limiting factor because
>>> encrypting should be done in hardware for the best performance. And,
>>> you are wrong to assume that the router handles all of the security.
>>> As the entire message is encrypted, the router decrypts messages from
>>> the card before sending them to the destination. The card decrypts
>>> messages from the router before sending them up the layers of
>>> software.
>>>
>>> Jim
>>>
>> Q1: Will stick to AES, thanks.
>>
>> Q2: Have set my comp to use WPA2 for ages now and this is what
>> confuses me. Not long ago I DID have my niece's laptop (with Windows
>> WPA2 update installed) connecting to my computer (with correct
>> security key). She had a relatively old Linksys USB wireless adapter,
>> so it didn't surprise me to see that when using Windows to "View
>> available networks", my BT Hub showed up as just WPA protected.
>>
>> Have just looked at the spec of my Belkin Wireless G card and it
>> states "Features wireless 64- and 128-bit WEP encryption" (no mention
>> of WPA let alone WPA2). When I "View available networks" my Hub shows
>> "Security-enabled wireless network (WPA2)".
>>
>> I'm positive that my Belkin card is older than my niece's USB adapter
>> and doesn't handle anything but WEP, so why is the network showing up
>> as WPA2 enabled?
>>
>
> Sorry, meant to add: Is it the Belkin card itself that is not WPA(2)
> capable or is it the UTILITY, as I queried earlier? When you allow
> Windows to handle the wireless connection surely it becomes the
> utility/driver, thus allowing for higher security. As security settings
> are set with the utility (in this case Windows), perhaps the card is
> merely transmitting the resultant data?
>
>
First, your BT "Hub" is really a router. A hub is an altogether
different piece of network equipment from a router.
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/...idge_types.htm
With respect to wireless security, *both* the router *and* the adapter
perform encryption and decryption. The router encrypts info that it
sends to your computer and your adapter decrypts those messages when it
receives them. And vice versa - your adapter encrypts info that you send
to the router and the router decrypts those messages.
There is some inconsistency with your description: how can you be
positive that your Belkin card is capable of only WEP if you've been
using WPA2 for ages? This does not compute.
Many WiFi products with the same product name have been substantially
changed through the use of "version" nomenclature. The main "features"
page of the product may not have been updated to reflect these changes.
Thus, your Belkin adapter almost certainly *is* WPA2 capable (if you
have been using it to connect to a WPA2 network). For example, if you
have a Belkin F5D7000 PCI wireless-G adapter, the main product page says
only "Features wireless 64- and 128-bit WEP encryption." The specs page,
however, says "WPA, WPA2, 64-bit/128-bit encryption" (of course, the
spec page also says that it's an IEEE 802.11b card when we know, by
definition, that it's IEEE 802.11g).
And, as others in the thread have noted, in order to use WPA2, you need
*both* a utility that knows about WPA2 *and* hardware that's capable of
WPA2. If you've installed the WPA2 update, then you have the correct
utility.
As far as your niece's Linksys USB adapter, the basic Linksys wireless-G
USB adapter, the WUSB54G, is now up to version 4, but even version 1 can
handle WPA (not WPA2) with the current driver. (The User Guide for
version 4 mentions something called "PSK2." I believe that's what
Linksys used to describe WPA2 (perhaps before the product was certified
by the WiFi alliance, and so couldn't use "WPA2"). So if your niece has
this version of this device, she probably can use WPA2. That term
doesn't appear in the v.1 or v.2 manuals.)
Finally, *all* devices on a wireless network must use the same level of
encryption. Thus, if your niece's hardware really can only handle WPA,
you'll have to reconfigure your router to use WPA. In this case, use
WPA-PSK (AES).
--
Lem -- MS-MVP
To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
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