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WEP encrypts your data so that no one can read it unless they have the key. That’s the theory behind WEP, anyway. WEP has been a part of Wi-Fi networks from the beginning. (The developers of Wi-Fi were initially focused on the business market, where data security has always been a big priority.) The name itself belies the intentions of the system’s developers; they wanted to make wireless networks as secure as wired networks. In order for WEP to work, you must activate WEP on all the Wi-Fi devices in your network via the client software or configuration program that came with the hardware. And every device on your network must use the same WEP key to gain access to the network. (We talk a bit more about how to turn on WEP in the “Clamping Down on Your Wireless Home Network’s Security” section of this chapter.) For the most part, WEP is WEP is WEP. In other words, it doesn’t matter which vendor made your access point or which vendor made your laptop’s PC card network adapter — the implementation of WEP is standardized across vendors. Keep this one difference in mind, however: WEP key length. Encryption keys are categorized by the number of bits (1s or 0s) used to create the key. Most Wi-Fi equipment