# Does wep security affect performance, do i need it?



## dj913 (Jan 13, 2005)

Does WEP encryption affect performance, my router says it does, id just like some opinions on that. And do i need it when i have MAC address control?


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## sohail_ah (Jun 10, 2005)

djw2009913 said:


> Does WEP encryption affect performance, my router says it does, id just like some opinions on that. And do i need it when i have MAC address control?


WEP Encryption causes additional processing for encryption at sending terminal and decryption at receiveing terminal. Further additional payload is added for checksum so u eventually tramsmit more data with WEP. Hence generally the overhead is about 30% in average scenario. 

MAC access control protects unlisted macs from accessing your network. However observers can capture mac adresses of valid users and emulate those macs. Also confidentiality is not guaranteed without WEP. 

Depending on the level of security you want to maintain in your wireless environment you should choose whether to enable WEP or not.


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## dj913 (Jan 13, 2005)

Thanks for the reply, yeah its tough i would probably be ok without encryption, i dont live in a large city. It would be nice if my router wouldnt broadcast the SSID but when i tell it not to it doesnt connect to my computer wirelessly. If i could get that to work i just use mac filtering and not broadcast the SSID so it was more secure.


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## dj913 (Jan 13, 2005)

If i used 64 bit encryption would that make the performance better?


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

The only real security on wireless connections is encryption. Here's an article on the issues: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/index.php?p=43


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## dj913 (Jan 13, 2005)

Well, the way they talk a router with wep encryption (the highest encryption my router has) can be hacked in a minuite, so if im gonna sacrafice a slight extra amount of security for better performance i might as well. Unless i get a new router with WPA which is more secure. If someones determined enough to hack me then they will. BTW if someone did get into my network, whats the worst that could happen when i only have a folder on each computer and one printer shared?


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

While WEP is indeed crackable, the average neighborhood kid doesn't know how to do it. WEP is WAY better than lame attempts like SSID hiding, MAC address filtering, or static IP addresses.


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## dj913 (Jan 13, 2005)

Right good point, well maybe ill put a 64-bit encryption so i have some security and a little better performance than 128-bit.


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## Terrister (Apr 18, 2005)

Try it with and without WEP and see if you notice any change. Depends on what you do on the net. 

I would say at least 75% of the wireless out there has no security. Think the kiddie hackers would go after them before they bother with one running encryption.


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