Re: wpa and supplicant clarification

[Rémi Cardona <remi cardona free fr>]

akonstam trinity edu wrote:
> As I understand it wpa and supplicant are programs that strengthen the
> security if wireless communication over that provided by WEP access
> passwds.
>
> But what is not clear is this. To use wpa or one of the of the forms
> of supplicant it seems to me you would have to have control of the
> access point as well as the DHCP server for that access point.
>
> My access point is serviced by AT&T wireless service. I don't see how
> I could the change their reliance on WEP authorization.
>
> Am I wrong. If so could someone point me to a document that explains
> how to use wpa ot supplicant in this environment?

WPA and WPA2 are major improvements over standard WEP. While they don't 
require any change of the DHCP server, they do require new configuration 
of the wireless access points. So in your case, it's up to AT&T to set 
up WPA on their hardware ... I doubt they'd be willing to do that. In 
other words, I guess you'll have to stick with WEP for a while.

Just FYI, wpa_supplicant is the name of a program used on linux (bsd's 
too?) to manage security-related aspects of wifi. NM uses it to set up 
the wifi card to connect to the AP of your choice with or without 
WEP/WPA/WPA2/...

Hope that helps

Rémi Cardona