WRT54G Security

Ok, on the box of my WRT54G it says "Will support up to 128-bit encryption"
but under my Router's control page, it gives me WPA as a choice (Which is
256-bit encryption). I would like to use WPA but I don't know if it
actually has WPA abilities and if the WPA option is just on all Linksys
routers but the choice actualy does not work. I know my notebook can use
WPA but the adapter on my computer (WMP54G), can it decode WPA 256-bit?
Again, it gives it as an option on the PCI adapter's menu when adding a
network profile but again, on the box, it says "up to 128-bit encryption"

Even the original version of the WRT54G supports WPA-PSK with both TKIP and
AES encryption. Just turn it on.

In addition to turning on WPA-PSK encryption, be sure to change the default
password of the WRT54G. This router runs Linux and so a large part of the
firmware is open source. Just as there is 3rd party feature-laden firmware
for the WRT54G there can also be hostile firmware that can be flashed onto a
WRT54G if someone gets access to it.

-Yves

"lpaulson3" <lpaulson3@cox.net> wrote in message
news:AnlCe.64579$R21.38962@lakeread06...
> Ok, on the box of my WRT54G it says "Will support up to 128-bit
> encryption" but under my Router's control page, it gives me WPA as a
> choice (Which is 256-bit encryption). I would like to use WPA but I don't
> know if it actually has WPA abilities and if the WPA option is just on all
> Linksys routers but the choice actualy does not work. I know my notebook
> can use WPA but the adapter on my computer (WMP54G), can it decode WPA
> 256-bit? Again, it gives it as an option on the PCI adapter's menu when
> adding a network profile but again, on the box, it says "up to 128-bit
> encryption"
>

"Yves Konigshofer" <yvesk@sStTaAnNfFoOrRdD.edu> wrote in message
news:dbcu41$puu$1@news.Stanford.EDU...
> Even the original version of the WRT54G supports WPA-PSK with both TKIP
> and AES encryption. Just turn it on.
>
> In addition to turning on WPA-PSK encryption, be sure to change the
> default password of the WRT54G. This router runs Linux and so a large
> part of the firmware is open source. Just as there is 3rd party
> feature-laden firmware for the WRT54G there can also be hostile firmware
> that can be flashed onto a WRT54G if someone gets access to it.
>
> -Yves
Should I choose TPK or AES? I'm going to use the pre-shared key for it but
I would like to know which algoritum would be best for optimum security.Also
how short should I set the group key renewal to? Also what about my Desktop
card, WMP54G, does it support WPA? I appreciate the help.

I'm not sure about the WMP54G but it should support WPA with the latest
drivers. If you enable WPA-PSK on the router, you will quickly find out if
your card supports it or not. BTW: make all changes to your router using a
wired connection.

There is currently not much of a security difference between TKIP and AES
because both are considered secure. However, AES is considerably stronger
and is now used by the government to encrypt sensitive data (as a
replacement to DES). The only known security problem with both TKIP and AES
is the choice of passphrase. The longer the better. It does not have to be
some completely random sequence of characters; just something that would be
nearly impossible to discover by a brute force attack (e.g., a short
sentence that includes a typo).

-Yves

"lpaulson3" <lpaulson3@cox.net> wrote in message
news:TgrCe.64583$R21.26679@lakeread06...
>
> "Yves Konigshofer" <yvesk@sStTaAnNfFoOrRdD.edu> wrote in message
> news:dbcu41$puu$1@news.Stanford.EDU...
>> Even the original version of the WRT54G supports WPA-PSK with both TKIP
>> and AES encryption. Just turn it on.
>>
>> In addition to turning on WPA-PSK encryption, be sure to change the
>> default password of the WRT54G. This router runs Linux and so a large
>> part of the firmware is open source. Just as there is 3rd party
>> feature-laden firmware for the WRT54G there can also be hostile firmware
>> that can be flashed onto a WRT54G if someone gets access to it.
>>
>> -Yves
> Should I choose TPK or AES? I'm going to use the pre-shared key for it
> but I would like to know which algoritum would be best for optimum
> security.Also how short should I set the group key renewal to? Also what
> about my Desktop card, WMP54G, does it support WPA? I appreciate the help.
>