What Is WPA-PSK Encryption?
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) evolved from the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protection system for wireless networks. When wireless capabilities increased and technology pricing decreased, the need to improve network security also became more prominent. WPA followed the WEP protection model, making home networks easier to protect and more secure. The WPA Pre-Shared Key (WPA-PSK) is a specific type of WPA protection.
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WPA-PSK and Home Networking
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When WEP was the de facto standard for wireless protection, not many home routers and access points had WEP protection enabled by default. Towards the end of the first decade of the 2000s, as wireless home networking grew in popularity, routers began utilizing WPA-PSK as the standard security model.
Support
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Almost all Wi-Fi devices now support WPA-PSK as standard. The WPA protocols were designed and programmed to be backward-compatible with older WEP security devices.
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Pre-Shared Key (PSK) Mode
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The PSK mode is designed for home or small network use where an 802.1x authentication server isn't required. WPA-PSK works by regularly changing the automatic encryption keys authenticated between computers, your server or router and other devices that connect to it. PSK dramatically improves protection over WEP, as the encryption keys change very quickly, thus preventing intruders from gathering data to break encryption and into your network.
Accessing your WPA-PSK Network
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To access your WPA-PSK network, the router or wireless access point uses a password you must enter when trying to access the network. These passwords or "passphrases" can be between 8 and 63 characters long. If you are worried about protection for your network, you should create a longer passphrase with a wider variety of letter cases, numbers and punctuation.
Security Problems
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As WPA-PSK uses a passphrase to initially access the network, hackers or intruders can use brute force hacking methods to crack the password. Brute force attacks rely on forcing multiple combinations of expected passwords, dictionary words and various combinations of popular characters to check for typical passwords. To combat this, you should make a truly random passphrase of at least 13 characters.
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