Lexmark 7600 Series - Manual (Page 60)

Devices on a wireless network use radio waves instead of cables to communicate with each other. For a device to be
able to communicate wirelessly, it must have a wireless print server attached or installed that lets it receive and
transmit radio waves.
What types of wireless network security are available?
The wireless printer supports four security options: no security, WEP, WPA, and WPA2.
No Security
It is not recommended to use no security at all on a home wireless network. Using no security means that anyone
within range of your wireless network can use your network resources—including Internet access, if your wireless
network is connected to the Internet. The range of your wireless network may extend far beyond the walls of your
home, allowing access to your network from the street or from your neighbors’ homes. Ad hoc networks, which do
not use wireless access points or routers, may be safely used without security. The range of an ad hoc network is very
short, making unauthorized access unlikely.
WEP
WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy) is the most basic and the weakest type of wireless security. WEP security relies on
a series of characters called the WEP key.
Every device on the wireless network must use the same WEP key. WEP security can be used on both ad hoc and
infrastructure networks.
A valid WEP key has:
• Exactly 10 or 26 hexadecimal characters. Hexadecimal characters are A-F, a-f, and 0-9
or
• Exactly 5 or 13 ASCII characters. ASCII characters are letters, numbers, punctuation, and symbols found on a
keyboard.
WPA and WPA2
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) and WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) offer stronger wireless network security than WEP.
WPA and WPA2 are similar types of security. WPA2 is a newer version of WPA and is more secure than WPA. Both
WPA and WPA2 use a series of characters, called the WPA pre-shared key or passphrase, to protect wireless networks
from unauthorized access.
A valid WPA passphrase has:
• From 8 to 63 ASCII characters. ASCII characters in a WPA passphrase are case-sensitive.
or
• Exactly 64 hexadecimal characters. Hexadecimal characters are A-F, a-f, and 0-9.
Every device on the wireless network must use the same WPA passphrase. WPA security is an option only on
infrastructure networks with wireless access points and network cards that support WPA. Most newer wireless
network equipment also offers WPA2 security as an option.
Installing the printer on a wireless network (selected models only)
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