What is WIFI Protected Setup (WPS)?

The full form of WPS is WIFI Protected Setup and it is a newly invented method. In this method a new device is added to the wireless network access point using just a Password or a Pin or simply by clicking a button.

When a user pushes a button on the access point the network is visible to the user and he can connect to it with a password or a PIN and as soon as it is done the network becomes invisible and thus it reduces vulnerability. So it is a method of adding a new device to a network and that is why this option is correct.

It is not a wireless encryption but Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and WPA2 are. The method of Closing open port is called Firewall and the way to filter out malicious client is the job of antivirus.

WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) is technology designed to automate the initial setup of a Wi-Fi connection. It is faster and easier.

Security Concerns

The security concerns associated with WPS are as follows −

• WPS is horribly insecure.

• WPS enabled routers are highly vulnerable.

• WPS is horribly insecure when wps is enabled that means the attackers gain access to your network. This is why we disable WPS after we establish a connection.

• Our aim here is to switch it off and otherwise disable it.

Versions

WPS consists of two versions are as follows −

Button Version

The button model is safer since it requires someone to press the WPS button on the router in order for WPS to be active.

Few minutes later it automatically switches off.

PIN Version

The PIN version is always on.

It is risky and will allow an attacker, to gain access to a vulnerable network in as few second

Advantages

The advantages of WPS are as follows −

• WPS configured automatically the network name (SSID) and WPA security key

• No need to know the SSID and security key while connecting WPS-enabled devices.

• Difficult to guess the security key or passphrase because the keys are randomly generated.

• Information and network credentials are securely exchanged using the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP).

• WPS has been integrated and supported in Windows Vista

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of WPS are as follows −

• It does not support “ad hoc” mode or network.

• The WiFi devices in the network must be WPS certified or WPS-compatible, otherwise security issues arise.

• Difficult to add a non-WPS client device to the network .

• Characters generated by the WPS technology.