34

Security Setup Wizard

Setting security functions for the wireless network

In the next step you can set the encryption and authentication methods for your wire-

less network.

Wireless networks are even more strongly exposed to the risk of eavesdropping than

wired networks. With conventional network adapters an intruder only needs a device

with a WLAN adapter (e.g. a notebook or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)) with an

appropriately configured network card in order to eavesdrop on every communication

made via a nearby wireless LAN.

The Gigaset SE361 WLAN uses effective encryption methods to largely prevent eaves-

dropping.

You can use the following security mechanisms:

u

WPA2-PSK or WPA2-PSK / WPA-PSK (see page 34)

u

WEP encryption (Wired Equivalent Privacy, see page 35)

We recommend using WPA2-PSK if it is supported by all components in your wireless

network.

You will find further options for setting data encryption in the

Advanced Settings

menu (see page 58).

WPA2 / WPA with Pre-shared key (PSK)

WPA

is a more advanced procedure than WEP for protecting wireless networks. Dynamic

keys based on TKIP (Temporal Key Integration Protocol) offer increased security. The

new WPA2 standard uses AES for encryption.

WPA-PSK

is a special WPA mode for users at home and in small companies without a

company authentication server. Encryption keys are automatically generated with the

Pre-shared key, automatically changed ("rekeying") and authenticated between the

devices after a certain period of time (

Rekey interval

).

ì

Select the

WPA2-PSK

option if it is supported by all components in your wireless net-

work.

or

ì

Select

WPA2-PSK / WPA-PSK

if some or all components in your wireless network

support WPA with the TKIP protocol.

Note:

If WDS is enabled (see page 62) only WEP is available as encryption method.

Note:

Every PC (network adapter) that requires access to a wireless network protected by

WPA must also support WPA. To find out whether and how you can use WPA on your

PC, read the user guide supplied with your network adapter.

35

Security Setup Wizard

ì

Enter a key of your choice in the

Pre-shared key

field (min. 8 to max. 63 characters)

and confirm it by repeating the entry.

ì

To go to the next step, click on

Next >

.

WEP encryption

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is an encryption procedure for radio signals in wireless

networks and complies with the IEEE 802.11 standard.

If you transmit data wirelessly and not all components in your wireless network support

the higher security standard WPA (see page 34), we recommend that you activate

WEP

Encryption

on these network components.

You can choose either the standard 64-bit keys or the more robust 128-bit keys for

encryption. The keys are generated in hexadecimal or in ASCII format. You must use the

same keys for encryption and decryption for the Gigaset SE361 WLAN and all your wire-

less networkadapters.

Note:

u

It is very

important

that you make a note of the

Pre-shared key

. You will need

this information to configure the wireless network adapters correctly.

u

When you have completed the Security Setup Wizard you must also change

the encryption data on the wireless network adapters in the connected PCs

since, without the change, they will not be able to access the Gigaset SE361

WLAN's wireless network.

36

Security Setup Wizard

ì

Select the

Key length

: 64 or 128-bit.

ì

Select the

Input type

, i.e. whether you wish to enter the key manually or have it

generated automatically by means of a

Passphrase

.

Manual key entry

ì

Select the

Key type

,

Hex

or

ASCII

.

.

If you select

Hex

as the key type, you can use the characters

0

to

9

and

A

to

F

.

–

With a 64-bit encryption depth the key is exactly 10 characters long.

Example of a valid key: 1234567ABC

–

With a 128-bit encryption depth the key is exactly 26 characters long.

Example of a valid key: 234567ABC8912345DEF1234567

If you select

ASCII

as the key type, you can use the characters

0

to

9

,

A

to

Z

, and

a

to

z

plus the special characters in the ASCII character set.

–

With a 64-bit encryption depth the key is exactly 5 characters long.

Example of a valid key: GIGA1

–

With a 128-bit encryption depth the key is exactly 13 characters long.

Example of a valid key: GIGASET_SE361

ì

Confirm the key by entering it again in the field

Confirm key

.

37

Security Setup Wizard

Generating the key by means of a Passphrase

ì

Enter a

Passphrase

(up to 32 characters) and confirm it by entering it again. The key

is generated automatically.

ì

To go to the next step in the Security Setup Wizard, click on

Next >

.

Note:

u

It is very

important

that you make a note of the key or passphrase. You will

need this information to configure the wireless network adapters correctly.

u

When you have concluded the Security Setup Wizard you must also change the

WEP encryption data on the wireless network adapters in the connected PCs

since, without the change, they will not be able to access the Gigaset SE361

WLAN's wireless network.

38

Security Setup Wizard

Access control within the wireless network

In this step you can specify which PCs will have wireless access to the Gigaset SE361

WLAN and hence to your LAN. Access control is based on the

MAC address

s of the PCs'

network adapters. You can enter the MAC addresses for the PCs manually or select them

from the list of PCs that are currently logged in.

The default setting for access control is disabled. This means that all PCs that use the

correct

SSID

and the right encryption method can log in.

ì

Next to

MAC address filter

select the option

On

to activate MAC filtering.

Entering MAC addresses manually

ì

Enter the MAC address of the network adapter. You will normally find this address

on a label on the device.

ì

Enter a name for the PC.

ì

Click on

Add

to add the entry to the list.

Selecting from the list of known PCs

ì

Select the required PC from the

Known wireless clients

list. All PCs that are cur-

rently logged in to the router with the correct SSID are displayed.

ì

Click on

Add

to add the selected PC to the list.