VPN client for OS X

[[AK]Squidly]

Oh no...here we go again.

[[AK]Bribo]

And no comments from the Peanut Gallery, please!

[The Wraith]

Originally posted by [AK]Bribo
Can you comment on 802.11B WEP versus 802.11G WEP. I've read the security is improved with "G".

No, I can't. I'm completely ignorant about changes in WEP with "G". Haven't had the opportunity to sit down with a mass of hardware/software and dig through the engineering aspects. My knowledge (and comments) are really limited to "B". I have also heard security is improved, but I don't know "Why" or "How". I've read that the Wi-Fi Alliance, guardian of 802.11 wireless networking interoperability, has announced the first set of products that meet its Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) security specification. But, I have no technical details on WPA in my brain.

I was able to dig this information up:

WPA, a subset of the 801.11i WLAN security specification, is set to replace the creaky Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) scheme used by wireless clients and base-stations to encrypt data to date. 802.11i is due to be ratified as a standard by the IEEE next year.

WPA builds on WEP by offering a Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), which constructs encryption keys in a more secure manner than WEP, which basically uses whatever you type in. WPA also uses the IEEE 802.1x wired and wireless protocol for authorisation and access control.

WPA-certified products will ship next month, the Wi-Fi Alliance said. For now it remains an optional certification, but the Alliance noted that it will become a required part of the certification process for "selected PC and PC peripheral products" later this year.

What products have been or are likely to be "selected", the Alliance didn't say, but the implication is that if you want to say your product is Wi-Fi compatible, you'll have to ensure WPA functionality.

The Wi-Fi Alliance also said yesterday it had begun a test programme to certify interoperability with the upcoming 802.11g standard. 802.11g remains a published specification, but has yet to be ratified by the IEEE. That ratification is expected in June. ®

I can speak towards 802.1x and TKIP, but not how their implementation impacts any wireless security products.