Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a Wi-Fi standard that was designed to improve the security features of WEP. WPA is stronger than WEP encryption. PSK and PSK2 are types of WPA which has two encryption methods, Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) that incorporates Message Integrity Code (MIC) to provide protection against hackers, and Advanced Encryption System (AES) that utilizes a symmetric 128-Bit block data encryption.
To setup WPA Wireless Security on your Linksys router, follow the steps below:
These instructions presume you have a Linksys WRT54GL router which is the most common router presently in use.
Open Internet Explorer
Type the router's IP address
http://192.168.1.1 into the address bar. Do not click the preceeding link since it will open your router in THIS window. If you want to open your router AND keep this window open, RIGHT-click on the link and select "Open in new tab (or window)."
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Enter the Network password. If you have never configured security for your router you may skip user name and type the routers password (admin is the default password) as the password, and click the OK button.
Please consult the documentation for your router and at least change the default password on your router if you have not already done so. Click here for instructions on how to change the password on your router. When the router’s web-based setup page appears, click Wireless then click Wireless Security.
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Select WPA-Personal in the Security Mode box. There are other options you may select. However, you should be aware that some wireless devices (Playstation Portable's - PSP) will
only connect to your router if you are using WPA-Personal
not WPA2-Personal.
NOTE: The image may look different depending on the model number of the Linksys router.
Select TKIP in the Encryption box.
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In the Passphrase box enter “MySecretKey” (PLEASE DO NOT USE MySecretKey!) or your desired WPA Key on the field. This will serve as your network key whenever you connect to your wireless network.
NOTE: Do not give this key to anyone. This key will secure your wireless network. Leave Group Key Renewal to 3600 seconds.
Click Save settings
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This rest of this article assumes that your wireless adapter is already properly installed and/or enabled on the computer. Before trying to connect your wireless adapter to a Linksys Wireless router, please know your SSID (by default it is Linksys unless you have changed it), Wireless Security and/or Network Key. To connect to the wireless network, follow the steps below.
Right-click the Wireless Network Connection icon at the bottom-right of the screen and select View Available Wireless Networks.
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Select your wireless network’s name or SSID and click Connect:
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The wireless network configuration wizard will appear:
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A box will appear asking for the secret key you entered above. Enter it in the box and select OK.