26

Setting up your wireless router

WEP Encryption Keys

—After selecting either the 64-bit or 128-bit WEP encryption mode,

it is critical that you generate an encryption key. If the encryption key is not consistent

throughout the entire wireless network, your wireless networking devices will be unable to

communicate with one another. You can enter your key by typing in the hex key manually, or

you can type a passphrase into the

Passphrase

field, then click

Generate

to create a key. A

hex (hexadecimal) key is a combination of numbers and letters from A–F and 0–9. For 64-bit

WEP, you need to enter 10 hex characters. For 128-bit WEP, you need to enter 26 hex

characters.

For instance:

AF 0F 4B C3 D4

= 64-bit WEP key

C3 03 0F AF 0F 4B B2 C3 D4 4B C3 D4 E7

= 128-bit WEP key

The WEP passphrase is NOT the same as a WEP key. Your card uses this passphrase to

generate your WEP keys, but different hardware manufacturers might have different

methods on generating the keys. If you have multiple vendors’ equipment in your network,

the easiest thing to do is to use the hex WEP key from your wireless router and enter it

manually into the hex WEP key table in your card’s configuration screen.

Security Sync (WPS)

Your router is equipped with the latest security standard, called

Wi-Fi Protected Access

(WPA2), and the legacy security standard, called

Wired Equivalent Privacy

(WEP). Your router

also supports the

Wi-Fi Protected Setup

(WPS) specification, which simplifies the setup of a

wireless network. WPS uses familiar methodologies, such as typing in a

Personal

Identification Number

(PIN) or pushing a button, to enable users to automatically configure

network names and strong WPA/WPA2 data encryption and authentication. By default,

wireless security is disabled. To enable security, you need to determine which standard you

want to use. To access the security settings, click

Security

on the

Wireless

tab.

Using Security Sync (Wi-Fi Protected Setup)

Security Sync (WPS) uses WPA2 for encryption. It does not provide additional security, but

rather, standardizes the method for securing your wireless network. You may use either the

Push Button Configuration (PBC) method or PIN method to let a device access to your

wireless network. Conceptually, the two methods work as follows:

PBC

: Push and hold the Security Sync (WPS) button located on the top of your router for

three seconds. Then initiate the Security Sync (WPS) procedure on the client device within

two minutes. Your client will automatically exchange the security information and be added

to your wireless network. The client has now been securely added to your wireless network.

Pushing the Security Sync button will automatically enable WPS.

The PBC method can also

be initiated from the notebook computer.

Setting up your wireless router

27

PIN

: The client device has a PIN number (either four or eight digits) that is associated with

WPS. Enable WPS through the GUI shown below. Enter the client's PIN into the Router's

internal registrar (accessed through this GUI). The client will be automatically enrolled into

your wireless network within two minutes.

1.

Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS): Enabled or Disabled.

2.

Personal Identification Number (PIN) Method: In this method, a wireless client wishing to

access your network must supply a 4- or 8-digit PIN to the router. After clicking "Enroll",

you must start the WPS handshaking procedure from the client within two minutes.

3.

Router PIN: If an external registrar is available, you can enter in the router's PIN to the

registrar. Click

Generate New PIN

to change the PIN from the default value, or click

Restore Default PIN

to reset the PIN value.

4.

Push Button Configuration (PBC) Method: PBC is an alternate method to connect to a

WPS network. Push the Security Sync button located on the back of the router for three

seconds, and then initiate the PBC on the client device. Alternatively, push the "Start

PBC" soft button to start this process.

5.

Manual Configuration Method: This section lists the default security settings if not using

WPS.

The router features WPA2, which is the second generation of the WPA-based 802.11i

standard. It offers a higher level of wireless security by combining advanced network

authentication and stronger Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption methods.

Wi-Fi Protected Areas (WPA)

WPA is a new Wi-Fi standard that improves upon the security features of WEP. To use WPA

security, the drivers and software of your wireless equipment must be upgraded to support

it. These updates will be found on your wireless vendor’s Web site. There are three types of

WPA security: WPA-PSK (no server), WPA (with radius server), and WPA2.

WPA-PSK (no server)

uses what is known as a pre-shared key as the network key. A

network key is a password that is between eight and 63 characters long. It can be a

combination of letters, numbers, or characters. Each client uses the same network key to

access the network. Typically, this is the mode that will be used in a home environment.

WPA (with radius server)

is a system where a radius server distributes the network key to

the clients automatically. This is typically found in a business environment.

WPA2

requires Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for encryption of data, which offers

much greater security than WPA. WPA uses both Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and

AES for encryption.

28

Setting up your wireless router

Most Wi-Fi products ship with security turned off. So once you have your network working,

you need to activate WEP or WPA and make sure all your wireless devices are sharing the

same network key.

IMPORTANT

: You must now set all wireless network cards/adapters to match these settings.

Sharing the Same Network Keys

Most Wi-Fi products ship with security turned off. So once you have your network working,

you need to activate WEP or WPA and make sure your wireless networking devices are

sharing the same network key.

The wireless G desktop card cannot access the network because it is using a different network

key than the network key that is configured on the wireless G router.

Using a Hexadecimal Key

A hexadecimal key is a combination of numbers and letters from A-F and 0-9. 64-bit keys are

five two-digit numbers. 128-bit keys are 13 two-digit numbers.

For instance:

AF 0F 4B C3 D4

= 64-bit key

C3 03 0F AF 0F 4B B2 C3 D4 4B C3 D4 E7

= 128-bit key

Note to Mac users

: Original Apple® AirPort® products support 64-bit encryption only. Apple

AirPort 2 products can support 64-bit or 128-bit encryption. Please check your product to

see which version you are using. If you cannot configure your network with 128-bit

encryption, try 64-bit encryption.

WEP Setup

To set up 64-Bit WEP encryption:

1

Click

Security

under the

Wireless

heading on the left menu. The

Wireless > Security

page opens.

2

Select

64-bit WEP

from the

Security Mode

list.

3

Enter your key by typing in the hex key manually, or you can put a check mark in

Passphrase

, then type in your passphrase.

4

Click

Generate

to generate four different hex keys.

A hex (hexadecimal) key is a combination of numbers and letters from A-F and 0-9. For

64-bit WEP, you need to enter 10 hex keys.

For example: AF 0F 4B C3 D4 = 64-bit WEP key

Setting up your wireless router

29

5

Click

Apply Changes

to save the setting.

Caution

: If you are configuring the Wireless G Router or access point from a computer with a

wireless client, you will need to make sure that security is turned ON for this wireless

client. If this is not done, your client will lose its wireless connection.

To set up 128-Bit WEP encryption:

Note to Mac users

: The passphrase option will not operate with Apple AirPort. To configure

encryption for your Mac computer, set the encryption using the manual method described

in the next section.

1

Click

Security

under the

Wireless

heading on the left menu. The

Wireless > Security

page opens.

2

Select

128-bit WEP

from the

Security Mode

list.

3

Enter your key by typing in the hex key manually, or you can put a check mark in

Passphrase

, then type in your passphrase.

4

Click

Generate

to generate four different hex keys.

A hex (hexadecimal) key is a combination of numbers and letters from A-F and 0-9. For

128-bit WEP, you need to enter 26 hex keys.

For example: C3 03 0F AF 0F 4B B2 C3 D4 4B C3 D4 E7 = 128-bit WEP key

5

Click

Apply Changes

to save the setting.

Caution

: If you are configuring the Wireless G Router or access point from a computer with a

wireless client, you will need to make sure that security is turned ON for this wireless

client. If this is not done, your client will lose its wireless connection.

Changing the Wireless Security Settings

Your router is equipped with WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), the latest wireless security

standard. It also supports the legacy security standard, WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). By

default, wireless security is disabled. To enable security, you must first determine which

standard you want to use. To access the security settings, click

Security

under the

Wireless

heading on the left menu.

WPA Setup

Note

: To use WPA security, all your clients must be upgraded to drivers and software that

support it. At the time of this User Manual's publication, a security patch download is

available, for free, from Microsoft®. This patch works only with the Windows XP operating

system. You also need to download the latest driver for your Dynex Wireless G Desktop or

Notebook Network Card from the Dynex support site. Other operating systems are not

supported at this time. Microsoft's patch only supports devices with WPA-enabled drivers

such as Dynex 802.11g products.

WPA uses a so-called pre-shared key as the security key. A pre-shared key is a password that

is between eight and 63 characters long. It can be a combination of letters, numbers, and

other characters. Each client uses the same key to access the network. Typically, this mode

will be used in a home environment.

WPA2 is the second generation of WPA, offering a more advanced encryption technique over

WPA.

30

Setting up your wireless router

To set up WPA/WPA2:

1

Click

Security

under the

Wireless

heading on the left menu. The

Wireless > Security

page opens.

2

Select

WPA/WPA2-Personal (PSK)

from the

Security Mode

list.

3

Select

WPA-PSK

for just WPA authentication, or

WPA2-PSK

for just WPA2

authentication, or you may select

WPA-PSK + WPA2-PSK

for WPA and WPA2 as the

authentication type.

4

Enter your pre-shared key. This can be from eight to 63 characters and can be letters,

numbers, or symbols. This same key must be used on all of the clients that you set up.

This pre-shared key will allow users full access to your network including shared files

and printers.

5

Click

Apply Changes

to finish. You must now set all clients to match these settings

depending on the type of access you want them to have.

Note:

If your wireless card is not equipped with WPA-enabled software, a file from Microsoft

called

Windows XP Support Patch for Wireless Protected Access

is available for free

download.

The file that Microsoft has made available works only with Windows XP. Other operating

systems are not supported at this time.

Important

: You also need to ensure that the wireless card manufacturer supports WPA and

that you have downloaded and installed the latest driver from their support site.

To set up Windows XP Wireless Network Utility to use WPA-PSK:

1

Under Windows XP, click

Start

,

Control Panel

,

Network Connections

.

2

Right-click

Wireless Network Connection Properties

, then click

Properties

.

3

Click the

Wireless Networks

tab. The following screen opens.

4

Make sure that the

Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings

box

is checked.