WPA2 Password Key Length?

Does the length of a WPA2 password key affect wireless network performance? I had a 64 character password set up originally and could no longer get my 4 year old wireless laptop to connect. Then I changed it to a 20 character password and it seems to be working OK for now (though it did connect when I first set up my 64 character password). Does a 64 character WPA2 password equal 504bit encryption? Does a 20 character WPA2 password equal 128bit encryption? How does this work?WPA2 Password Key Length?
The maximum password length is 64 characters which equals 256 bits (64 x 4). Anything less will equal weaker encryption (see below for what I mean by weaker).



The problem is most likely the client's implementation of WPA2 (the Nintedo Wii for instance requires a password length of exactly 13 characters in WEP to work). Perhaps there's a software/driver update available for your laptop's NIC?



I'm guessing there's a standard padding involved if you use less than 64 hex characters so that it's always operating in 256 encryption mode... (although brute-force attacks will be easier the shorter the password is).



Here's a link explaining how easy it is to crack WPA2: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/content/v



Pay attention to the last page (http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/content/v ) which has some good tips for securing your network.



FYI, RADIUS is the way to go for better security. Here's a way to implement RADIUS with Microsoft Home Server: http://www.wegotserved.co.uk/2008/03/21/

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