Is WPA security dependent on the Wi-Fi hardware, or is it just software? How come we don't see manufacturers update their older
802.11b hardware drivers to use WPA? Is there something specific that needs to be present on the hardware for WPA to work?Yousuf Khan
First, this is, in part, a hardware issue.
Encryption involves a lot of calculation so just about all (if not all) wi-fi devices have processors that can perform certain algorithms really fast. TKIP is similar enough to WEP that processors that are used for WEP encryption can sometimes be used for TKIP as well. This allows some older wi-fi devices to support WPA with TKIP through a firmware and driver update. However, the algorithm used for AES is completely different and most older devices cannot support WPA with AES, which is also now known as WPA2. WPA is also different enough from WEP that certain devices (usually USB or stand-alone game adapters) may not be able to support it at all.
Second, this is, in part, a financial issue.
The wireless sector is highly competitive and profits, if there are any, are minor. Products are really cheap and it may not make financial sense to write new drivers and firmware for what are now outdated devices when drivers and firmware are needed for a constant stream of new devices.
-Yves
support,
hardward
So you're saying that if I turn off the manufacturer's own security features and go through Windows XP's built-in functions, then I can do WPA on my old card?
Yousuf Khan
No. You need hardware that supports WPA, drivers that support WPA, and a WPA supplicant. Windows XP comes with a supplicant. Some manufacturers include a supplicant with their recent drivers to support WPA on older versions of Windows. However, if the hardware and/or the drivers do not support WPA then you cannot use WPA.
-Yves
It depends, some hardware manufacturers rely on windows for wpa support, such as my belkin card, but some provide it and give you the option of using windows or the software provided. WPA is software rather than hardward AFAIK.
Daniel
I may be wrong, but I understand provided it allows you to use windows wireless configuration I don't see why not. Some cards like my laptops dell 1310 card would only let me use the dell wireless utility when using wpa, I couldn't get it to work using the windows utility. If thats also the case with you and the cards utility doesn't support wpa, then thats your answer, i think its easy enough to trying the windows config, and if that fails revert back to the card manufacturers...
kind regards,
Daniel
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