a standards-based, interoperable security enhancement that strongly increases the level of data protection and access control for existing and future wireless LAN systems
A Wi-Fi standard designed to address the security weaknesses of WEP, while remaining compatible with existing Wi-Fi hardware. The principle improvements over WEP are improved encryption through TKIP, which checks keys for tampering and dynamically changes keys during communications, and the addition of user authentication. WPA2 will include even more security features, but requires specialized hardware and may not be compatible with existing Wi-Fi devices. Back
A security protocol developed to fix flaws in WEP. Encrypts data sent to and from wireless devices within a network.
Wi-Fi Protected Access is a specification of standards based, interoperable security enhancements that strongly increase the level of data protection and access control for existing and future LANs. Designed to run on existing hardware as a software upgrade, WPA is derived from and will be forward compatible with the 802.11i standard. When properly installed, it will provide wireless LAN users with a high level of assurance that their data will remain protected and the only authorized network users can access the network. The Wi-Fi Alliance plans to begin interoperability certification testing on Wi-Fi products starting February 2003.
WPA is the new standard in Wireless Network Encryption. It is easier to use than WEP because you can use a simple password rather than a 26 character code like that required for WEP. It also has a stronger encryption method because the code rotates every so often, but the password remains the same.
a system to secure Wi-Fi networks, intended to replace the current, less secure WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) system. Part of the IEEE 802.11i standard.
The Wi-Fi Alliance put together WPA as a data encryption method for 802.11 wireless LANs. WPA is an industry-supported, pre-standard version of 802.11i utilizing the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), which fixes the problems of WEP, including using dynamic keys. WPA will serve until the 802.11i standard is ratified in the third quarter of 2003. Close Window
A Wi-Fi standard that encrypts information being sent over the airwaves.
The most popular encryption standard for securing Wi-Fi networks. Since Wi-Fi technology requires that users configure their own network security, users must enable WPA from a personal computer after setting up the network.
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2) is a class of systems to secure wireless (Wi-Fi) computer networks. It was created in response to several serious weaknesses researchers had found in the previous system, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). WPA implements the majority of the IEEE 802.11i standard, and was intended as an intermediate measure to take the place of WEP while 802.11i was prepared.
