TestOut LabSim A+ Certification Practice Exam

Who is allowed to authenticate through access points on a wireless network employing WEP?

1. All users on the network

2. Users with the correct WEP key

3. Any guest user

4. Users with strong passwords

The correct answer is: Users with the correct WEP key

The correct answer is that users with the correct WEP key are allowed to authenticate through access points on a wireless network employing WEP. WEP, or Wired Equivalent Privacy, is a security protocol designed to provide a wireless local area network (WLAN) with a level of security and privacy comparable to what is usually expected of a wired LAN. In the context of WEP, each device must have a specific key to access the network. This key is shared among authorized users, and it serves as the encryption mechanism to secure the data transmitted over the wireless network. Only those users possessing the correct WEP key can authenticate and gain access to the wireless network, which makes the security measure dependent on the secrecy and strength of that key. Other options do not accurately reflect how WEP access works. For instance, saying that all users on the network can authenticate ignores the requirement of having the correct WEP key. Allowing any guest user conflicts with the necessity for a specific access key, while suggesting users with strong passwords does not apply in the context of WEP, as the protocol specifically relies on shared keys rather than password authentication.