Windows 7 and WEP

[Feenix]

Hi.

Posted recently about a problem Ive been having with a Windows 7 network.  To cut a long story very short, I had to switch to WEP security.  Ive heard this is a poor substitute for WPA or WPA2, but I have seen some sites advising people to use it, though very much as a last resort, because windows 7 can have problems with WPA/WPA2.  Can someone please tell me, how terrible is WEP?  Seemed to be ok before WPA showed up, right?

If someone could please give me some advice on this, I would appreciate it. 

Cheers

feenix

[soybean]

We need the rest of the story.  Why did you have to switch to WEP security?

[Geek-9pm]

Best guess. After a security update, his network would not work. So he was told to turn off the better security method.
This problem has been documented. Answer is unknown
WPA-2 personal should work. But some users say Windows 7 64 bit would use it right. Works for me. But some say it does not work for them.
EDIT: Found this on the MS
Windows 7 can not connect to WPA-2

...spent a good hour with similar issues listed above. I have a new W7 laptop that wouldn't connect to my home wireless network. It could connect to other networks at other locations and could even connect to my iphone which is connected to my home network. It was driving me nuts. I tried everything.

I could get it online if I hardwired it via cat 5 to my router but then the wireless would still not work. The last thing I tried, (which worked), was hooking it up via cat 5 to the router, removing all the previous wireless connections and recreating the new home wireless connection. Once I pulled the cat 5 out, it was still working. Rebooted and it still works. I'm stoked.

[Calum]

Nowadays, WEP is very insecure against a determined attacker, it can be broken within minutes.  So, if your network is accessible by anyone you think may want to crack into it, WEP is no good at all, and almost as bad as no security.  It will however deter someone just looking for open networks, so it's far better than no security against someone just having a casual look.

[Feenix]

OK.

Sorry for the lack of info, it was rather early in the morning here, was a little punchy.  A while ago, windows 7 started handling wireless networks rather badly.  This could be because of a security update, as someone suggested.  Tried everything, from trying other network adapters, getting a new router to changing the dsl filter and cable, running checks for spyware and viruses, disabling IPV6 and a whole lot of other things, all to no avail.  Then I read about this particular weakness in Windows 7 - that it can have problems with WPA/WPA2 and that there is no current solution to this problem, but that WEP can work so I switched to that and it worked immediately.

I dont know anyone who would want to hack into my connection, so there is no immediate and serious threat that I know of.  What I dont get is why Microsoft would leave a hole like this in their OS.

Anyway.  Cheers for the responses, people. 

[Calum]

I've never had a problem with WPA/WPA2 on several different Win7 machines at home and family & friends, and 100+ at work.
I'm unsure exactly what's causing the problem with your PC, if I'd been through all of that I would probably try a clean install (or, preferably, use an Ethernet cable, but I know that's not always possible).

So, yes, WEP will keep your network safe from the casual bystander, but not anyone who puts a few minutes into breaking in to use your connection.  I would not want to run WEP myself unless I had no nearby neighbours who might want to borrow my network, but I'm fairly security conscious in that respect.

[Feenix]

Hmmm

Its not an option that I have chosen lightly, I have to say (fairly security conscious myself).  Maybe a clean install would indeed help.  The only thing I havent tried for any substantial length of time is using TKIP with WPA/WPA2 rather than AES.  However, I understand that this has at least one security vulnerability - maybe its better than WEP though.  I may try it before I do a clean install.  Cheers, guys.

[Calum]

TKIP is certainly better than using WEP.  The other consideration, which I didn't see mentioned, is your wireless adapter and its drivers.  I have seen adapters which let you try and use WPA or WPA2 but don't properly support it, which causes all kinds of issues.

[Feenix]

mmmm.  I did try using a number of drivers for all 3 of the adapters I tried (the onboard adapter and two netgear ones).  The drivers I downloaded worked a little better than the ones on the disks supplied with the adapters, but not for long unfortunately.  I shall give TKIP a try today and let you guys know how it went.

[Calum]

Understood, it was just a suggestion.  I figured you would've tried that already with the other troubleshooting you mentioned.

[Feenix]

Thats ok - all suggestions are welcome.    Im using TKIP on WPA2 now - seems ok thus far....

[Feenix]

OK.  Well, it didnt work for that long so I re-installed the entire computer.  And it still didnt work!!   

So, its either going to be WEP or I will have to use a wired connection, which kinda sucks.  Cheers for all your help, guys.

[Feenix]

Right, well, after disabling IPV6 again and switching off autotuning and remote differential compression, it seems to be holding with WPA2 with AES.  I think re-installing everything did the trick!  Sooooo, for the moment at least, the problem is solved.  Cheers, people. 

Feenix

[Geek-9pm]

What?

and switching off auto tuning and remote differential compression,

For reference:
http://www.trishtech.com/win7/turn_off_differential_compression_in_windows_7.php
No explanation given. Just says home users don't need it.

[Calum]

Right, well, after disabling IPV6 again and switching off autotuning and remote differential compression, it seems to be holding with WPA2 with AES.  I think re-installing everything did the trick!  Sooooo, for the moment at least, the problem is solved.  Cheers, people. 

Feenix

Glad to hear the problem now seems to be solved.  It's an odd one, like I say I've never had to do anything to get Windows 7 working perfectly with WPA or WPA2, so it's something I've yet to come across.