WiFi Protected Setup
Free Version
Publisher Description
The goal of Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is to automate the creation of a secure wireless network. The protocol removes the need for users to understand what a SSID is or the difference between WEP, WPA, and WPA2 and their associated ciphers. Essentially, the protocol automatically creates the network blocks specified by the wpa_supplicant's configuration file. As such, the user typically only needs to run the WPS protocol once for each AP.
In WPS's simplest topology, there are two participants: the registrar and the enrollee. The registrar has the authority to issue and revoke credentials on the network. Typically, but not always, this is the access point. The enrollee, on the other hand, is the device seeking to join the wireless network. The purpose of the WPS patch is to add the enrollee function to the 0.5.x version of the wpa_supplicant.
WPS Methods
Before you can configure the supplicant, it is helpful to understand the two supported configuration methods: Push Button Control (PBC) and PIN. Both methods accomplish the same goal, but provide different levels security and ease of use. The PBC method is the simpler of the two. In this method, the user pushes a button on the registrar (usually the AP) and a button on the enrollee (a laptop, cell phone, etc). The protocol then takes care of connecting to the correct AP and retrieving the
encryption settings.
The advantage of PBC is a very simple user interface, but there are a few issues:
• The user must push both buttons within two minutes of each other. WPS refers to this time
period as the "walk time".
• Only one enrollee can use the PBC method at a time. The second enrollee using PBC will
receive an error message and can either elect to wait until the other enrollee is done or use
the PIN method without waiting. Note that this restriction is across all detected SSID and
BSSID on all channels.
• The method is unauthenticated and does not protect against active attacks
The PIN method requires the user to retrieve a PIN number from the enrollee and enter it into the
registrar either via a key pad or, more likely, through a web based interface. The user then notifies
the enrollee that the registrar has accepted the PIN and can proceed with connection. This method is
slightly more involved than PBC, but is no more complicated than getting money from a bank's cash
machine.
About WiFi Protected Setup
WiFi Protected Setup is a free software published in the Other list of programs, part of System Utilities.
This program is available in English. It was last updated on 19 March, 2024. WiFi Protected Setup is compatible with the following operating systems: Linux, Mac, Windows.
The company that develops WiFi Protected Setup is ctuffli. The latest version released by its developer is 1.0. This version was rated by 99 users of our site and has an average rating of 3.9.
The download we have available for WiFi Protected Setup has a file size of 136.71 KB. Just click the green Download button above to start the downloading process. The program is listed on our website since 2009-12-12 and was downloaded 14,473 times. We have already checked if the download link is safe, however for your own protection we recommend that you scan the downloaded software with your antivirus. Your antivirus may detect the WiFi Protected Setup as malware if the download link is broken.
How to install WiFi Protected Setup on your Windows device:
- Click on the Download button on our website. This will start the download from the website of the developer.
- Once the WiFi Protected Setup is downloaded click on it to start the setup process (assuming you are on a desktop computer).
- When the installation is finished you should be able to see and run the program.
