"Lem" <lemp40@unknownhost> wrote in message
news:...
> Smirnoff wrote:
>> "Smirnoff" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>>
>>> "Jim" <> wrote in message
>>> news:...
>>>> "Smirnoff" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:...
>>>>> 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
>
You are quite right about the Belkin, I was looking at the Features page
rather than the Spec page.
I can stop scratching my head now.
Thanks for a very detailed and comprehensive answer.
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