wpa-psk [tkip] + wpa2-psk [aes]: What is WPA, PSK, WPA2,TKIP & AES

wpa-psk [tkip] + wpa2-psk [aes]

The full description of wpa-psk [tkip] + wpa2-psk [aes]: WPA – PSK / WPA2 – PSK, TKIP & AES; and the correct way to use them. If someone would ask you that what the most important needs of a human are; then a large number of the readers will speak out three basic and socially accepted terms which are food, clothing, and shelter. And what if someone asks you that what are the requirements necessary for your data to survive? It is very clear that the answer will not be the same as in the case of humans. Most of the readers will give answers such as proper maintenance, anti-virus software, or any other. We cannot say which answer is wrong or which solution is correct. But we can confidently say that the most important requirement is “Protection“.

   Protection, but from whom?

                It can be protection from malware, protection from corruption, viruses, or from the hands of an intriguer. If there is no protection laid around the data of yours, then it will be easy for any person to get control of your data. Without a certain level of protection, you can check the condition of your data a thousand times in one day, but it will not be safe. The multi-faced sword of threats, malware, Trojans, and other threats will keep on lurking over it. And there is no guarantee that the sword will not do any harm to the data. So, the best thing you can do is to protect your data as much as possible by cybersecurity.

You cannot protect the data with the help of big muscles unless you can find out the hacker who has damaged your system. In this virtual world of data that flows around freely, the only way to protect data is to make a virtual security guard. The security guard can be a password, pin, lock, and the strongest way of protection, the “Encryption” also. Once you have locked your data with a virtual lock, you can say that your data is safe. But until no one else, other than you have access to the password or the key.But among these ways of protecting your data, the best way is to use the Encryption. You will first have to understand that what encryption is.

What is this method of Encryption?

You all might have used different kinds of locks in your device’s operating system. There are various types of locks such as fingerprint lock, face recognition lock, pin lock, password lock, pattern lock, and question lock. You might have been using them for a long time, but encryption is something different. It cannot be broken down easily. And most of the time, there is no way to go through it without the decryption key. But as you might know, there are exceptions to many things (not all). And in this case, also, some things such as viruses that use encryption can be broken down to gain access to the data without the decryption key. This locks the data in a specific pattern. And then only the decryption key is the tool. The decryption key restores the data to its original pattern.

How does the encryption work?

The method of encrypting data is sometimes time-consuming but the result is worth the time. When we use the encryption method, the data is shifted from its original state to a particular pattern. Like, the original piece of data in your system contains a text file that contains the following line – ‘Today is a good day’. Now, you have to transfer the data and you encrypt the data with the encryption key- ‘Shift by 3’. According to the key, all the characters will be shifted from the original state to a character that is three steps away. So, the encrypted message will become- ‘Wrgdb lv d jrrggdb’.

Learn more: NET::ERR_CERT_WEAK_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM

The power of the encryption.

          It is difficult to read and interpret without the decryption key, right? In this case, the decryption key is- ‘Shift backward by 3’. On following the decryption key, the data will be restored to normal. You could have also put up a password lock with the password as the encryption key. But if someone sees it, then your data is in danger. So, this proves that encrypting the data is the best.

Why do you need protection or encryption?

You might be thinking that what is the need of protecting the data or encrypting it which sometimes consumes a lot of time? But this is really important if you do not want to give the control of your data or system to someone else. For in the virtual world, you cannot remain with your data and protect it with physical strength. So, you need a virtual lock which can be in the form of encryption also.

There are thousands of threats who are sitting outside to gain control of your data and then modify, delete or stop it from going further for their own advantage. And this will happen in a flick of a second if you do not make efforts to try it. They will never think about the damage you tolerate. So, never forget to keep on making backups for your important files and keep on protecting them through a list of steps. These can be:

•      Getting an anti-virus software
•      Making a firewall around important files
•      Make backups of important files regularly and keep them in an isolated place.
•      Use the in-built features such as Restore points and frequent scans for threats.

You must try to follow all of the steps and take the required steps. It will ensure higher-level protection of your system and data.

What is wpa-psk [tkip] + wpa2-psk [aes]?

wpa-psk [tkip] + wpa2-psk [aes] means Wi-Fi Protected Access with Pre-Shared Key including Temporal Key Integrity Protocol in combination with second level Wi-Fi Protected Access with Pre-Shared Key including Advanced Encryption Standard which overall the process of Encryption with certain protocols and rules for wifi to protect from hackers.

You all might have used the Wi-Fi or mobile hotspot at least once. This helps you to do anything on the internet without using your mobile data (which sometimes incurs additional charges). There is another advantage of Wi-Fi that is the internet speed in a Wi-Fi is far greater than the speed in a mobile data network. But there is one disadvantage of using Wi-Fi. It is while using it your device is visible to nearby devices and it can help someone to gain access over system. Such incidents happen very often when you use the open Wi-Fi in public areas such as shopping. And to remove this vulnerability, there is a layer of security known as WPA that is put over these networks.

What is the WPA?

            WPA stands for ‘Wi-Fi protected accesses. It has been designed to make wireless networks secure. The data that is encrypted when sent to the different systems is decrypted with the key. Earlier, all the systems used the same encryption and decryption key. This made it easier for intriguers to make their decryption key that matched the original one. But with WPA, the decryption key for different systems is changed. It makes it difficult for hackers to make their own decryption key. For this task, the WPA uses the TKIP.

 What is the TKIP?

            It stands for ‘Temporal Key Integrity Protocol’. This TKIP is the tool that WPA uses to provide different decryption keys to different systems.

What is PSK and what is WPA2 or WPA-2?

These short forms might seem confusing initially. But on understanding them thoroughly, then you will become familiar with them. We already know that for what the term does WPA stands. Now it is time for the PSK.

What is the PSK?

         PSK stands for ‘Pre-Shared Key’. It is a digital modulation process that uses a string of 64 digits that generated unique decryption keys for different network users. PSK is one of the two authentication methods that are used by WPA and WPA-2. It is most commonly used for networks in residential buildings. It also uses the TKIP to generate unique encryption keys. Then if a user tries to connect to the wireless network, the PSK asks for the password and if the provided password matches that of the PSK, the user gets connected to the network.

What is the WPA-2

         WPA-2 is also a wireless security protocol that stands for ‘Wi-Fi Protected Access-2’. This is a very safe form of wireless protection. It relies on a user-built key for protection. It can also be considered the evolution of WPA-1 or simply the successor of WPA.

What is AES?

As it was told before, there are two methods for authentication in the WPA and WPA-2. One of them, the PSK has been described above. The other authentication method is the AES. It simply stands for the term ‘Advanced Encryption Standard‘.

Some facts from the history

              According to the web, its original name is “Rijndael” and encrypts the electronic data. This is essential for computer security and data protection. It uses the same secret keys for accessing the data that is the sender and the receiver get the same secret key. This method encrypts data by three different lengths of blocks- 128, 192, and 256 blocks. It is a very strong encrypting tool and the data can be saved from brute force attacks also.

What to use, AES or PSK or TKIP?

From the information you have read about all the three encrypting methods, as you can guess, the AES is the best one. It uses a symmetric key (same key for sender and receiver), has strong protection, and is cost-effective also. It is also used for protecting the data which is at rest. But as the experts say, AES is good only if it is implemented properly.

Conclusion

In the conclusion of wpa-psk [tkip] + wpa2-psk [aes]: the need for protecting our data has reached an all-time high and now, no one can ignore its importance. Even a minor fault in the protection of your system can result in the transfer of the control of your system from your hands to the hands of an intriguer or a hacker. Therefore, the security of your data is a must. The best way to do this is to encrypt the data. And while using wireless communications, your system’s protection might be at risk. For that, various tools such as AES, TKIP, and PSK have been developed with association with WPA and other security layers. However, even the strongest protection might have vulnerability. So, you should look out for any fault or problem and then only proceed further with any action on your precious data. And never forget to create backups.