WEP / WPA: hardware or software limitation

[Guest]

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Hello,

I have a home network with a router that would support WPA but I'm limited
to WEP by 2 "weak points": devices that only allow WEP encryption.

I wondered if it was a hardware limitation of the device or just a matter of
finding the right driver.

BTW, these devices are
- a Dell TrueMobile 1150 Mini-PCI card (under Windows 2000);
- a 3Com 11 Mbps wifi PC-card (with "Xjack" retractable antenna) (under
Windows 98).

Any advice appreciated - TIA,

--

Daniel CLEMENT

 

[Guest]

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Look on the manufacturers website for driver updates. They usually have a
list of the updates for the driver and it should say if it supports wpa


"Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks> wrote in message
news:418518af$0$31205$8fcfb975@news.wanadoo.fr...
> Hello,
>
> I have a home network with a router that would support WPA but I'm limited
> to WEP by 2 "weak points": devices that only allow WEP encryption.
>
> I wondered if it was a hardware limitation of the device or just a matter
of
> finding the right driver.
>
> BTW, these devices are
> - a Dell TrueMobile 1150 Mini-PCI card (under Windows 2000);
> - a 3Com 11 Mbps wifi PC-card (with "Xjack" retractable antenna) (under
> Windows 98).
>
> Any advice appreciated - TIA,
>
> --
>
> Daniel CLEMENT
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: (More info?)

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 17:54:37 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
wrote:

>I have a home network with a router that would support WPA but I'm limited
>to WEP by 2 "weak points": devices that only allow WEP encryption.
>
>I wondered if it was a hardware limitation of the device or just a matter of
>finding the right driver.

It depends on the hardware. There is no inherent limitation to any
wireless hardware device to do WPA encryption. However, some card
manufactories imbed large parts of the MAC layer in firmware, which
will have an effect. The real problem is that vendors are not
particularly interested in supplying updated drivers and firmware for
products that they no longer sell. With current product lifetimes of
6 months to 2 years, there's a real chance that anything old may never
see support for the latest acronyms.

>BTW, these devices are
>- a Dell TrueMobile 1150 Mini-PCI card (under Windows 2000);

Yep. Old card. No WPA. Get a newer model card:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/learnmore/learnmore.aspx?c=us&l=en&ref=CFG&s=gen&~id=dfamilywireless&~line=notebooks&~lt=popup&~series=inspn&~tab=other
that supports WPA. $20-$45 from Dell or via Ebay.

>- a 3Com 11 Mbps wifi PC-card (with "Xjack" retractable antenna) (under
>Windows 98).

Model number? 3Com has been fairly good about updating their older
cards. I guess(tm) there might be a suitable driver available, but I
can't tell without the model number. Start here:
http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/downloadsindex.jsp

Incidentally, if you have Windoze 98 original version and not Windoze
98 Second Edition, you may have some problems with drivers.



--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Guest]

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Wireless cards contain hardware to accellerate encryption and decryption.

The algorithm used in WPA/TKIP is very similar to the algorithm used in WEP.
For this reason, most cards that support WEP could theoretically also
support WPA/TKIP. However, wireless technology is rapidly changing and
competition is fierce. Thus, it does not make a lot of financial sense to
dedicate programmers to adding features to older hardware; especially, when
new hardware can be purchased for around $50.

In addition, WPA2 replaces TKIP with (required for government use) AES. The
algorithm used by AES is very different from the ones used by TKIP and WEP.
Thus, pre-WPA hardware will not be able to support WPA/AES. Luckily, many
chipsets from cards that supported WPA from the start (where AES was an
option) should support WPA2.

So, if you're looking to replace your existing hardware, look for something
that supports WPA2 (or WPA with AES). Also, assume that any new wireless
hardware will be very out of date in about a year.

-Yves

"Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks> wrote in message
news:418518af$0$31205$8fcfb975@news.wanadoo.fr...
> Hello,
>
> I have a home network with a router that would support WPA but I'm limited
> to WEP by 2 "weak points": devices that only allow WEP encryption.
>
> I wondered if it was a hardware limitation of the device or just a matter
> of
> finding the right driver.
>
> BTW, these devices are
> - a Dell TrueMobile 1150 Mini-PCI card (under Windows 2000);
> - a 3Com 11 Mbps wifi PC-card (with "Xjack" retractable antenna) (under
> Windows 98).
>
> Any advice appreciated - TIA,
>
> --
>
> Daniel CLEMENT
>
>
>

 

[rush]

Archived from groups: (More info?)

"Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks> wrote :

> I wondered if it was a hardware limitation of the device or just a
> matter of finding the right driver.

WPA can be implemented 100% in software.

Pozdrawiam.
--
RusH //
http://randki.o2.pl/profil.php?id_r=352019
Like ninjas, true hackers are shrouded in secrecy and mystery.
You may never know -- UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE.

 

[Guest]

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"Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks> wrote in message
news:418518af$0$31205$8fcfb975@news.wanadoo.fr...
> Hello,
>
> I have a home network with a router that would support WPA but I'm limited
> to WEP by 2 "weak points": devices that only allow WEP encryption.
>
> I wondered if it was a hardware limitation of the device or just a matter
> of
> finding the right driver.
>
> BTW, these devices are
> - a Dell TrueMobile 1150 Mini-PCI card (under Windows 2000);
> - a 3Com 11 Mbps wifi PC-card (with "Xjack" retractable antenna) (under
> Windows 98).
>
> Any advice appreciated - TIA,
>
> --
>
> Daniel CLEMENT

WPA version 1 was specifically designed to require about the same processing
power as WEP, so that vendors could retrofit WPA onto existing devices with
just a software/firmware upgrade. Unfortunately, to be allowed to display
the WiFi logo, the WiFi Alliance only required vendors to support WPA on
products introduced after 9/30/03. So, although vendors were expected to
produce updated drivers for existing hardware, they didn't do it. Perhaps
this was because the introduction of WPA coincided pretty closely with the
introduction of standard 802.11g. So generally speaking, 802.11g products
support WPA and 802.11b products don't (with a few exceptions).

Ron Bandes, CCNP, CTT+, etc.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: (More info?)

Thanks for all these details.

I could locate a 3Com driver on their site. Not clear it has WPA. (BTW, it's
W98SE.)

As for the Dell TM 1150, I'd hesitate to replace it. I have tried a TM 1350;
would not install. I asked the tech support, they answered "not compatible"
(with a Precision M50 notebook).

Maybe an Intel would work, but I have a doubt.

The TM 1150 does have a WinXP driver supporting WPA, but chances are that it
would not work under Win2k.

Looks like WEP is better than nothing after all...

Thanks again,

--

Daniel CLEMENT


"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> a écrit dans le message de
news: t9eao0dqhngpsjddbebcgsi1t0h1msk60o@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 17:54:37 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
> wrote:
>
> >I have a home network with a router that would support WPA but I'm
limited
> >to WEP by 2 "weak points": devices that only allow WEP encryption.
> >
> >I wondered if it was a hardware limitation of the device or just a matter
of
> >finding the right driver.
>
> It depends on the hardware. There is no inherent limitation to any
> wireless hardware device to do WPA encryption. However, some card
> manufactories imbed large parts of the MAC layer in firmware, which
> will have an effect. The real problem is that vendors are not
> particularly interested in supplying updated drivers and firmware for
> products that they no longer sell. With current product lifetimes of
> 6 months to 2 years, there's a real chance that anything old may never
> see support for the latest acronyms.
>
> >BTW, these devices are
> >- a Dell TrueMobile 1150 Mini-PCI card (under Windows 2000);
>
> Yep. Old card. No WPA. Get a newer model card:
>
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/learnmore/learnmore.aspx?c=us&l=en&ref=CFG&s
=gen&~id=dfamilywireless&~line=notebooks&~lt=popup&~series=inspn&~tab=other
> that supports WPA. $20-$45 from Dell or via Ebay.
>
> >- a 3Com 11 Mbps wifi PC-card (with "Xjack" retractable antenna) (under
> >Windows 98).
>
> Model number? 3Com has been fairly good about updating their older
> cards. I guess(tm) there might be a suitable driver available, but I
> can't tell without the model number. Start here:
> http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/downloadsindex.jsp
>
> Incidentally, if you have Windoze 98 original version and not Windoze
> 98 Second Edition, you may have some problems with drivers.
>
>
>
> --
> Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
> 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: (More info?)

On Mon, 1 Nov 2004 17:21:59 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
wrote:

>I could locate a 3Com driver on their site. Not clear it has WPA. (BTW, it's
>W98SE.)

>As for the Dell TM 1150, I'd hesitate to replace it. I have tried a TM 1350;
>would not install. I asked the tech support, they answered "not compatible"
>(with a Precision M50 notebook).

The official answer from tech support will always be "not compatible"
for any arrangement they have not tested or previously sold. I've
juggled a few cards in Mini-PCI slots on various laptops and never had
(much) of a compatibility issue. I mean, it's a real PCI slot, just
like a PCI card. There are no power supply voltage issues as
everything I've found runs on 3.3VDC. I've juggled a few Broadcom,
Senao, and Intel mini-PCI wireless cards without much trouble. I also
have adapters between standard PCI and mini-PCI I use for testing. My
biggest compatibility problem is my tendency to destroy the u.FL
antenna connector, which seems to be good for only one or two
insertions. In other words, there's no electrical reason why your
Precison M50 should not work with one of the modern cards.

>Maybe an Intel would work, but I have a doubt.
>The TM 1150 does have a WinXP driver supporting WPA, but chances are that it
>would not work under Win2k.

Drivers for Windoze XP are very much like those for W2K. There are
some subtle differences in the installation scripts and driver
signing, but the actual drivers are identical. I once had to tweak an
XP printer driver into working with W2K. I forgot how I did it, but
it wasn't much of a problem. In general, if the product has an XP
driver, it will also have one for W2K.

The trick to juggling cards is to remove the old windoze driver
*BEFORE* you unplug the card and install the new driver. Use:
Device Manager -> (Pick Device) -> Driver -> Uninstall
Shutdown, power off, pull the old card, reboot, and make sure it's
really gone. If you reboot with the old card still in place,
plug-n-play will reinstall the drivers. When it's time to install the
new card, you can either install the drivers first, and then the card,
or the other way around. It really depends on how the driver install
is written. If it comes with a complicated install script, then it's
usually driver first, card install last. If it's just a pile of
drivers and a .INF file, it's card first, and tell it where to find
the drivers.

>Looks like WEP is better than nothing after all...

Well, the usual kludge is to have two access points. One running the
faster 802.11g with WPA, the other running 802.11b with WEP. With the
802.11g access points set to 802.11g only, there is no slowdown caused
by the presence of 802.11b devices.

>Thanks again,

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: (More info?)

Thanks for the continued support. Below are some comments (about what
actually "didn't work").

"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> a écrit dans le message de
news: lupco0th038g6sghjmqg6mntm4t3ov08kn@4ax.com...

<snip>

> (much) of a compatibility issue. I mean, it's a real PCI slot, just
> like a PCI card. There are no power supply voltage issues as
> everything I've found runs on 3.3VDC. I've juggled a few Broadcom,
> Senao, and Intel mini-PCI wireless cards without much trouble. I also
> have adapters between standard PCI and mini-PCI I use for testing. My
> biggest compatibility problem is my tendency to destroy the u.FL
> antenna connector, which seems to be good for only one or two
> insertions. In other words, there's no electrical reason why your
> Precison M50 should not work with one of the modern cards. [...]

Indeed I tried the TM 1350 and had no electrical problem. From Windows's
point of view, the card was installed. But the Dell card management software
would not take charge of it. I tried many times, no way. I sent the card
back to Dell.

Here is what I think: the TM 1350 is a very specific Dell model for newest
laptops. It has _two_ antennas. The TM 1150 has one (and of course the
Precision M50 has but one connector). From your posting I conclude it is the
general case, and I could have more luck with a non-Dell (e.g. Intel) card.
But as for the driver...

> [...] Drivers for Windoze XP are very much like those for W2K. There are
> some subtle differences in the installation scripts and driver
> signing, but the actual drivers are identical. I once had to tweak an
> XP printer driver into working with W2K. I forgot how I did it, but
> it wasn't much of a problem. In general, if the product has an XP
> driver, it will also have one for W2K.
>

The W2K driver is the one installed at present. No WPA. I think Dell has
released a WPA-updated driver for XP, but "forgotten" to offer a W2K
version. Yet, you encourage me in testing the XP software. This is what I'll
try first.

Thanks again,

> --
> Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
> 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Guest]

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On Tue, 2 Nov 2004 08:45:55 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
wrote:

>Thanks for the continued support.

Groan. Why am I doing this????

>Indeed I tried the TM 1350 and had no electrical problem. From Windows's
>point of view, the card was installed. But the Dell card management software
>would not take charge of it. I tried many times, no way. I sent the card
>back to Dell.

Did you remove the old TrueMobile 1150 management software? Per my
previous rant, that was an absolute necessity. Also, the 1350 drivers
are NOT the same as the 1150. If you tried the 1350 with the 1150
drivers, it would not work. Installing the 1350 should have initiated
plug-n-play and demanded a new driver. If not, something is really
weird.

>Here is what I think: the TM 1350 is a very specific Dell model for newest
>laptops.

Methinks not. To the best of my knowledge the TrueMobile 1350 is
stock Broadcom, right out of the box. Same mini-PCI card as a dozen
other laptop manufacturers use. I'm fairly sure it's an exact copy of
the Broadcom 94306 reference design:
http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pb/94306M-PB01-R.pdf

>It has _two_ antennas. The TM 1150 has one (and of course the
>Precision M50 has but one connector).

Diversity reception. Some laptops actually have two antennas on
either side of the screen and use both connectors. It should NOT have
an effect on operation. However, some firmware might disable
diversity and select only one antenna. I've never seen that in laptop
configurations, but it might happen. Therefore, you have to select
the correct antenna. Sometimes, there's a very small 50 chip resistor
soldered across the unused coax connector (Siemens 802.11b PCI card).

>From your posting I conclude it is the
>general case, and I could have more luck with a non-Dell (e.g. Intel) card.

Maybe. The 2100 was not a very good design. The 2200 works just
fine.

>The W2K driver is the one installed at present. No WPA. I think Dell has
>released a WPA-updated driver for XP, but "forgotten" to offer a W2K
>version. Yet, you encourage me in testing the XP software. This is what I'll
>try first.

I recently ran into a video card that had only XP drivers and nothing
for W2K. I tried the wizard and it proclaimed that my W2K operating
system was "unsupported". So, I used winzip to expand the archive
into individual files, invoked the W2K add new hardware control panel
applet, pointed it at the expanded archive of files, ignored the
messages of impending doom, and installed the driver. It worked just
fine.

I've done such risky experiements in W2K quite often. It doesn't
always work. In XP Pro, we have the "System Restore" feature to
recover from my screwups. In W2K, one has to manually disarm the
offending driver in order to boot and then remove it. You might wanna
read:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;244905
on how to disarm a driver in W2K using the "Recovery Console" before
you try anything creative.

Good luck and I still think the 1350 should work.

Bah, no luck required. Just a good search engine. See:
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?releaseid=R83097
Truemobile 1350 drivers which include W2K and probably WPA.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Guest]

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"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> a écrit dans le message de
news: 5kefo09rkalqj12q0nsri0k90r54buac2p@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 2 Nov 2004 08:45:55 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
> wrote:
>
> >Thanks for the continued support.
>
> Groan. Why am I doing this????

My apology -- I just meant I appreciate your help.

I am pretty confident I have tried the TM 1350 the right way, but no matter.
I don't have the TM 1350 any more. The Dell tech assured me it wouldn't
work, I believed him and sent it back...

Searching from the link you indicated (did not know that part of the Dell
site):

[...]
>
> Bah, no luck required. Just a good search engine. See:
> http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?releaseid=R83097
> Truemobile 1350 drivers which include W2K and probably WPA.
>
I have found a TM 1150 driver/client software newer than the ones I use.
(It's not on the Dell French site). I'm full of hope... I'll try it ASAP.

Best regards,

Daniel CLEMENT

 

[Guest]

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On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 10:01:14 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
wrote:

>My apology -- I just meant I appreciate your help.

No appology necessary. I was just having a bad day and complaining to
everyone.

>I have found a TM 1150 driver/client software newer than the ones I use.
>(It's not on the Dell French site). I'm full of hope... I'll try it ASAP.

HOLDIT! Don't do that. The US and French drivers and radios operate
under different rules and regulations. Power limits and frequency
bands are different. The wireless drivers MUST be from the country in
which it is to be used.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Guest]

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On Wed, 03 Nov 2004 09:43:23 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
<jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote:

>On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 10:01:14 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
>wrote:
>
>>My apology -- I just meant I appreciate your help.
>
>No appology necessary. I was just having a bad day and complaining to
>everyone.
>
>>I have found a TM 1150 driver/client software newer than the ones I use.
>>(It's not on the Dell French site). I'm full of hope... I'll try it ASAP.
>
>HOLDIT! Don't do that. The US and French drivers and radios operate
>under different rules and regulations. Power limits and frequency
>bands are different. The wireless drivers MUST be from the country in
>which it is to be used.

Not to mention it can actually leave you in breach of the law if you
are using the wrong settings!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: (More info?)

Oops! One more thing I ignored... Fortunately "ASAP" has not yet occured.

However, the driver download page, as well as the Client Manager page, both
state "multi-language". Do you think I can safely assume that they carry the
right set of frequencies for France? I don''t see why they would offer a
French driver with US frequency settings...

What do you think of this:

driver link:

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&rele
aseid=r46012&fileid=53878

software link:

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&rele
aseid=r43778&fileid=51540

--

Daniel CLEMENT


"Simon Pleasants" <plesbit@hotmail.com> a écrit dans le message de news:
astjo0pjkshtjns8t5mugium3e1ejmup1r@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 03 Nov 2004 09:43:23 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
> <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote:
>
> >On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 10:01:14 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
> >wrote:
> >
> >>My apology -- I just meant I appreciate your help.
> >
> >No appology necessary. I was just having a bad day and complaining to
> >everyone.
> >
> >>I have found a TM 1150 driver/client software newer than the ones I use.
> >>(It's not on the Dell French site). I'm full of hope... I'll try it
ASAP.
> >
> >HOLDIT! Don't do that. The US and French drivers and radios operate
> >under different rules and regulations. Power limits and frequency
> >bands are different. The wireless drivers MUST be from the country in
> >which it is to be used.
>
> Not to mention it can actually leave you in breach of the law if you
> are using the wrong settings!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: (More info?)

On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 18:07:15 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
wrote:

>Oops! One more thing I ignored... Fortunately "ASAP" has not yet occured.
>However, the driver download page, as well as the Client Manager page, both
>state "multi-language". Do you think I can safely assume that they carry the
>right set of frequencies for France?

Sorry. I can't tell without installing or running the install
program. My guess is no. If you want French rules and regulations,
you'll need to download whatever is available on the French site.

>I don''t see why they would offer a
>French driver with US frequency settings...

Oh, that's easy. We have plenty of foreign language speakers in the
USA. One need not travel France to speak French. US rules and
regulations, but written in a foreign language is common.


--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# 831.421.6491 digital_pager jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS

 

[Guest]

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"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in message >
> Oh, that's easy. We have plenty of foreign language speakers in the
> USA. One need not travel France to speak French. US rules and
> regulations, but written in a foreign language is common.


Or in Canada, where well over 30% of the population can speak French

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: (More info?)

Well, I have tested.

Now I have a signal meter which reads "bon" instead of "good" 🙂
But I still don't have any WPA :-(
Yet, the driver and software versions are as recent as the ones for XP.

I'm bound to think that WPA is a WinXP feature, not (or not easily)
available in W2K. I'll look fore more info about that.

For now I have decided that I can live without WPA.

Many thanks for your valuable advice,

--

Daniel CLEMENT


"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> a écrit dans le message de
news: qvclo0dqa1pbmnk49bvl17sagrcahsikqq@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 18:07:15 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
> wrote:
>
> >Oops! One more thing I ignored... Fortunately "ASAP" has not yet occured.
> >However, the driver download page, as well as the Client Manager page,
both
> >state "multi-language". Do you think I can safely assume that they carry
the
> >right set of frequencies for France?
>
> Sorry. I can't tell without installing or running the install
> program. My guess is no. If you want French rules and regulations,
> you'll need to download whatever is available on the French site.
>
> >I don''t see why they would offer a
> >French driver with US frequency settings...
>
> Oh, that's easy. We have plenty of foreign language speakers in the
> USA. One need not travel France to speak French. US rules and
> regulations, but written in a foreign language is common.
>
>
> --
> # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
> # 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> # jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
> # 831.421.6491 digital_pager jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS

 

[Guest]

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On Sat, 6 Nov 2004 21:23:43 +0100, "Daniel CLEMENT" <no@spam.thanks>
wrote:

>Well, I have tested.
>Now I have a signal meter which reads "bon" instead of "good" 🙂
>But I still don't have any WPA :-(
>Yet, the driver and software versions are as recent as the ones for XP.

Sorry. It was worth a try.

>I'm bound to think that WPA is a WinXP feature, not (or not easily)
>available in W2K. I'll look fore more info about that.

Well, sorta. WPA appeared at about the same time at 802.11g, so they
tend to go together. Drivers for cards that do just about everything
in software (Centrino) were all available at the same time. Once the
new cards appeared, there was no incentive to upgrade the 802.11b
cards to WPA. Obsolescence is the price of progress.

>For now I have decided that I can live without WPA.

Sigh. Well, at least you tried.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558