Encrypted WiFi with no password?
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Ian Boyd
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Published on 2012-04-15T15:38:46Z
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2012/04/15
17:34 UTC
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Is there any standard that allows a WiFi connection to be encrypted, but not require a password?
i know that (old, weak) WEP, and newer WPA/WPA2 require a password (i.e. shared secret). Meanwhile my own wireless connections are "open", and therefore unencrypted.
There is no technical reason why i can't have an encrypted link that doesn't require the user to enter any password. Such technology exists today (see public key encryption and HTTPS
).
But does such a standard exist for WiFi?
Note: i only want to protect communications, not limit internet access.
i get the sense that no such standard exists (since i'm pretty capable with Google), but i'd like it confirmed.
Claraification: i want to protect communcations, not limit internet access. That means users are not required to have a password (or its moral equivalent). This means users are not required:
- to know a password
- to know a passphrase
- to enter a CAPTCHA
- to draw a secret
- to have a key fob
- to know a PIN
- to use a pre-shared key
- have a pre-shared file
- to possess a certificate
In other words: it has the same accessibility as before, but is now encrypted.
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