WPA Key, WPA2, WPA3, and WEP Key: Wi-Fi security explained
Which one should you be using? Why Wi-Fi security matters.
Setting up new Wi-Fi? Picking the type of password you need can seem like an arbitrary choice. After all, WEP, WPA, WPA2, and WPA3 all have mostly the same letters in them. A password is a password, so what’s the difference?
About 60 seconds to billions of years, as it turns out.
All Wi-Fi encryption is not created equal. Let’s explore what makes these four acronyms so different, and how you can best protect your home and organization Wi-Fi.
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
In the beginning, there was WEP.
Wired Equivalent Privacy is a deprecated security algorithm from 1997 that was intended to provide equivalent security to a wired connection. “Deprecated” means, “Let’s not do that anymore.”
Even when it was first introduced, it was known not to be as strong as it could have been, for two reasons: one, its underlying encryption mechanism; and two, World War II.
