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Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a security protocol that was designed to replace Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and to provide improved security for wireless networks. WPA includes support for encryption, authentication, and key management, and it is widely used to secure wireless networks.
WPA includes two main versions: WPA and WPA2. WPA2 is the more secure version and includes support for the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which is a strong encryption algorithm. WPA is considered to be less secure and includes support for the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), which is a weaker encryption algorithm.
To use WPA, a wireless network must be configured with a pre-shared key (PSK) that is used to encrypt the data transmitted over the network. The PSK is entered into the wireless devices that connect to the network, and it is used to generate the encryption keys that are used to protect the data.
WPA also includes support for a variety of authentication methods, including pre-shared key (PSK) authentication and 802.1X authentication. PSK authentication is used to authenticate devices using a shared key, while 802.1X authentication is used to authenticate devices using a centralized authentication server.
WPA is an important tool for protecting the confidentiality and integrity of communication over wireless networks and for preventing attacks that involve the compromise of keys.