what is wpa2

WPA2 is the wi-fi protected access 2. While wi-fi helps in the internet connectivity, WPA2 helps in providing the security.

It is the security added to the wireless networks. In the recent years stealing of crucial information via internet has become common, thus any organization has to look into putting the right security at place.

WPA2 takes one into confidence that only those people who are authorized, can connect to their wireless networks. WPA2 offers the government grade security.

The wi-fi protected access or the WPA2 uses the advanced encryption standard. The CCMP (Counter Cipher Mode with Block Chaining message authentication code protocol) is the cryptographic encapsulation to maintain the privacy of the data. It has become the general standard for the WPA2 wireless networks. WPA2 needs the certification and testing by the Wi-Fi Alliance.

WPA2 is developed for securing 802.11 wireless networks with the help of 128-bit encryption.  The security keys do come in different forms, the top one being WPA2 pre-shared key that are around 64 hexadecimal digits longer. WPA2 is comparatively secure than WPA but is vulnerable to the dictionary attacks.

It can provide enterprise level security. This solution is useful for large organizations.  The method takes the help of RADIUS server for authentication. The combination of WPA2 with the IEEE 802.1x helps removes the majority of the security hurdles. The current access routers are provided with a WPA2 secured wi-fi access point, and the VoIP features.

The support mechanism of WPA2:

  • Has robust support for the ad-hoc networks and infrastructure for the authentication and encryption.
  • Opportunistic key caching system

The WPA2-PSK:

The WPA2-PSK is the wi-fi protected access pre-shared key. It is a process of encryption for authenticating users on the wireless LAN. The transmission of the data is coded with the generation of the password of the end user. It makes the security more sophisticated and trustworthy, difficult to break upon. The enhancement of the WPA to WPA2 just looks into that the wireless data is not listened or invaded into, while transmitting between various devices in the network.

The WPA2-PSK needs a single password for getting on to the wireless network. In only few cases the WPA2-PSK needs to be deployed; it has the network where there are only few devices. It could be your personal area like home.

What is the WPA2 key generator tool?

This generator tool is designed to generate random passwords. The number generator is based on the Mersenne Twister algorithm.

The WPA2 key generation supports 504-bit keys for the best security.

The different versions are:

  • WPA2 Personal
  • WPA2 Enterprise

The advantages of WPA2:

  • It has a strict encryption standard
  • It establishes a secure communication
  • It increases the security

The disadvantages of WPA2:

  • It is vulnerable to attacks if an unauthorized user gets access
  • It is only compatible with new software
  • A longer password is required
  • The amount of processing power needed is a drawback
  • The TCP connections could be hijacked for obtaining sensitive and crucial information
  • It could lead to Krack attack- using the re-installation attacks with the help of keys.

 

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