What is WPS

WPS stands for Wi-Fi Protected Setup, created by the Wi-Fi Alliance and introduced in 2006. The network security standard helps create a secure and easy home wireless network by pressing the button or typing in an eight-digit numeric pin. It is designed such that it eliminates errors by mistyping or confusion. It is easy to use by pressing the button or typing the pin, and an Encryption type, Security key, and Service Set Identifier (SSID) get automatically generated for you.

WPS supports multiple registrars. For security, it uses WPA and WPA2 personal security as default. To connect your device with the router, your device must support WPS except for window 7 because, in window 7, there is an inbuilt Wi-Fi Protected Setup client. Because of this, you will be able to connect with the router with WPS even when your device does not support WPS.

Ways to Setup Network with WPS

There are three ways to set up the network with WPS:

1. Push Button Configuration: A physical or virtual button is available with all the access points (AP) that we can press to set up the wireless network and allow multiple users to connect with the AP. Unknown devices can also connect with the AP during the setup process.
2. Pin Configuration: There is an eight-digit unique numeric pin labeled with each AP that we can type to set up the network. It ensures that only authorized devices connect with the network. It is the most secure method to establish the network because it encrypts the data and authenticates each device.
3. Near Field Communication (NFC): A NFC is a set of communication protocols that enables only nearby devices to connect with the access point. It is one of the optimal methods, and there is no need to type the password manually.

Characteristic of WPS

There are some important characteristics of WPS listed below:

• It allows the owner to block unknown users from using the Wi-Fi.
• WPS allows using it by pressing the virtual or physical button or typing in the eight-digit numeric pin.
• It allows multiple users to use the network after authentication.
• It can also allow multiple registrars.
• There are three devices included in a network by the WPS protocol, Viz, Enrollee, and AP. The enrollee is the device seeking to use the Wi-Fi, and AP stands for access point intermediate device between the registrar and enrollee like routers.
• WPS is used to create a wireless network and allows the devices to connect with an access point that supports Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and Wi-Fi Protected Access2 (WPA2) personal security Protocols.

Advantages of WPS

Some important advantages of Wi-Fi Protected Setup are:

• Service Set Identifier (SSID), Encryption type, and security key get automatically generated.
• Network names and passwords are not required during the connection of WPS-enabled devices.
• It is hard to guess the security key as it is randomly generated.
• The WAP and WAP2 authentication protect the network.
• The Window vista supports it.
• We do not need to remember the username and password as it is very convenient.
• Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is used while transferring the information. EAP is one of the authenticated protocols used in WAP2.

Disadvantages of WAP

Some disadvantages of Wi-Fi Protected Setup are:

• It allows only those devices that support WAP except for window 7. Otherwise, we need to follow other methods to establish the network.
• WPS does not support an ad-hoc network. An ad-hoc network does not require any access point (AP); in this network, all wireless devices can interact with each other.
• It is not much secure, and the eight-digit numeric security key can be cracked using some advanced methods like the brute force technique.
• It is not easy to connect non-WPS devices because of the long sequence of hexadecimal characters.
• Every trader does not support Wi-Fi Protected Setup as it is one of the new technologies.

How Much is WPS Secured?

WPS pin is not much secured and vulnerable to attack. The eight-digit pin is stored in two blocks of four digits. The access point (AP) checks the first four-digit and cybercriminals can crack these four digits of the pin within a few hours, and they can crack the whole pin in less than ten hours. Once they get the pin, they can connect to our network and get complete access to it no matter how much the network was secured.