Depending on the age of your hardware, you should have a choice of one or more of the following options, listed in order of preference:
● Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2). Based on the 802.11i standard, WPA2 provides the
strongest protection for consumer-grade wireless networks. It uses 802.1x-based authentication and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption; combined, these technologies ensure that only authorized users can access the network and that any intercepted
data cannot be deciphered. WPA2 comes in two flavors: WPA2-Personal and WPA2-Enterprise. WPA2-Personal uses a passphrase to create its encryption keys and is currently the
best available security for wireless networks in homes and small offices. WPA2-Enterprise
requires a server to verify network users. All wireless products sold since early 2006 must
support WPA2 to bear the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED label.
● Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). WPA is an earlier version of the encryption scheme
that has since been replaced by WPA2. It was specifically designed to overcome weaknesses of WEP. On a small network that uses WPA, clients and access points use a shared
network password (called a preshared key, or PSK) that consists of a 256-bit number or
a passphrase that is from 8 to 63 bytes long. (A longer passphrase produces a stronger
key.) With a sufficiently strong key based on a truly random sequence, the likelihood of a
successful outside attack is slim. Most modern network hardware supports WPA only for
backward compatibility.
● Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). WEP is a first-generation scheme that dates back
before the turn of the century. It suffers from serious security flaws that make it inappropriate for use on any network that contains sensitive data. Most modern Wi-Fi equipment
supports WEP for backward compatibility with older hardware, but we strongly advise
against using it unless no other options are available.