ZyXEL Prestige 660HW-D1 Wireless Router 91-004-593003B Manual Do Utilizador

P-660H/HW-D Series User’s Guide

Chapter 7 Wireless LAN

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Authentication is the process of verifying whether a wireless device is allowed to use the 
wireless network. You can make every user log in to the wireless network before they can use 
it. This is called user authentication. However, every wireless client in the wireless network 
has to support IEEE 802.1x to do this.

For wireless networks, there are two typical places to store the user names and passwords for 
each user.

• In the AP: this feature is called a local user database or a local database.
• In a RADIUS server: this is a server used in businesses more than in homes.

If your AP does not provide a local user database and if you do not have a RADIUS server, 
you cannot set up user names and passwords for your users.

Unauthorized devices can still see the information that is sent in the wireless network, even if 
they cannot use the wireless network. Furthermore, there are ways for unauthorized wireless 
users to get a valid user name and password. Then, they can use that user name and password 
to use the wireless network.

Local user databases also have an additional limitation that is explained in the next section.

Wireless networks can use encryption to protect the information that is sent in the wireless 
network. Encryption is like a secret code. If you do not know the secret code, you cannot 
understand the message.

The types of encryption you can choose depend on the type of user authentication. (See 

 for information about this.)

For example, if the wireless network has a RADIUS server, you can choose WPA or WPA2. 
If users do not log in to the wireless network, you can choose no encryption, Static WEP, 
WPA-PSK, or WPA2-PSK.

Table 31   Types of Encryption for Each Type of Authentication

No Security

WPA

Static WEP

WPA-PSK

WPA2-PSK

WPA2