The latest standards for Wi-Fi are called WPA3 and WiFi-6. Why are they better? Simply they are faster and more secure.
To connect your computer (laptop, desktop or tablet) to wireless networks that uses Wi-Fi 6 and WPA3, you will need three things...
- a router with support for both standards
- a wireless network adapter with Wi-Fi 6/WPA3 support
- Windows 10 version 2004 installed on your Windows Machine or an Apple Mac that is newer than March 2020.
You can make sure you have the latest Windows 10 update installed by simply using the update feature...
- Click Start button, then go to Settings
- Click Update & Security
- Click Windows Update
- Then click the "Check for Updates" button.
Seeing if your router supports Wi-Fi 6 and WPA3 is a bit tricker as you'll need to by checking the documentation that came with the router or by going to the router manufacturer’s website. As a simple rule of thumb if your router is more than a year or so old, or it's a basic model, then it's unlikely to have support for this new wireless standard - it's pretty new!
To see if you're connected to a Wi-Fi 6 network:
- Connect to a Wi-Fi network.
- Click the Wi-Fi network icon on the right side of the taskbar, then click “Properties”
- On the Wi-Fi network screen, scroll down, under Properties, look at what is says next to Protocol. It will say Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) if you’re connected to a Wi-Fi 6 network.
To see if you’re connected using WPA3 security:
- Connect to a Wi-Fi network – if you aren’t already.
- Click the Wi-Fi network icon on the right side of the taskbar, then click “Properties”
- On the Wi-Fi network screen, scroll down, under Properties, look at the value next to Security type. It will include WPA3 if you’re connected to Wi-Fi using WPA3 encryption.
WPA3 was announced in January 2018, a few months after security expert Mathy Vanhoef announced the KRACK vulnerability, which his team had discovered, impacting the WPA2 WiFi protocol used by most people around the world.
"The standard was later released in June 2018 with more resilient, password-based authentication and the equivalent of 192-bit cryptographic strength for enterprise solutions. One year later, in April 2019, security researchers Mathy Vanhoef and Eyal Ronen discovered a collection of new WPA3 security issues collectively known as Dragonblood which allow attackers to crack Wi-Fi network passwords, to access encrypted network traffic exchanged between connected devices, and to steal sensitive information like credit card numbers, passwords, emails, and more." - https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/windows-10-2004-comes-with-wi-fi-6-and-wpa3-support/
WPA3 has been release to solve this security hole. Microsoft has also come to the party with version 2004 which includes countermeasures to protect against attacks attempting to abuse the DragonBlood and KRACK security flaws.
Matthew & The Team
Computer Help NZ
www.chnz.co.nz