How to Find Your WEP Key

What is a WEP Key?

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a weak security algorithm for IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. Introduced as part of the original 802.11 standard ratified in September 1999, its intention was to provide data confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wired network. WEP, recognizable by the key of 10 or 26 hexadecimal digits, is widely in use and is often the first security choice presented to users by router configuration tools.

Although its name implies that it is as secure as a wired connection, WEP has been demonstrated to have numerous flaws and has been deprecated in favor of newer standards such as WPA2. In 2003 the Wi-Fi Alliance announced that WEP had been superseded by Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). In 2004, with the ratification of the full 802.11i standard (i.e. WPA2), the IEEE declared that both WEP-40 and WEP-104 "have been deprecated as they fail to meet their security goals".

Where is the WEP Key?

To get the WEP key, you’ll need to have Internet. However, you won’t have Internet if you’re trying to use the router. So, using an Ethernet cable, plug your computer into one of the ports behind the router. Then, go to the following website using a internet browser: http://192.168.1.1/. That is typically the default location for routers. If it doesn’t work, do a simple Google search for “router control panel.”

Once you are there, it will prompt you to log in. If you have never changed anything, the default login is admin and admin for both the username and the password. If admin doesn’t work for the password, try the word password. You’ll want to change these once you get in, but that can be done at a different time. For now, get the WEP key.

Now that you are in the control panel, click on the wireless tab. There will be many different tabs, but toward the top or the left sidebar, there should be a tab that says wireless. Click that and then hit WEP. When you click that, a couple of different jumbles of numbers and letters will appear. The first one is your WEP. It will be a mixture of letters and numbers. Write this down or copy and paste it into a notepad document.

Now that you’ve got it, change your password–you don’t have to–and then you can log out of the router. Complete your wireless set up and then you can go ahead with your private Internet browsing.