JANUARY 2022 MACWORLD 77can get a little fuzzy. Wi-Fi Protected
Access (WPA) is the baseline, but the
WPA2 version covers devices dating back
nearly 15 years and should be your
baseline. Newer hardware can also
support WPA3, a more modern flavor
available only in a limited number of
mobile and desktop devices so far.
You might find WPA2 listed as
WPA2 Personal or WPA-PSK, with
an option to select AES or AES-
CCMP separately as an encryption
type—or even WPA2/WPA3. All of
those are fine. I would avoid plain
WPA or WPA/WPA2 Personal where
possible in the interests of
improving security; pick WPA2
Personal (or PSK plus AES) or
WPA2/WPA3 Personal. (Don’t use
WPA3 Personal
as the only
method either—
not enough
devices support
it so far.)
The popular
TP-Link routers
confusingly
show WPA/
WPA2-Personal
along with
choices that
include WPA2-
PSK for Version
and AES for Encryption—select all three of
those as shown in the figure!
No matter the method of Wi-Fi security,
the process of picking a password is the
same. For the greatest security, a set of
three words that are easy to remember
and enter provide excellent resistance to
attacks and won’t frustrate you in tappingTP-Link requires three choices for the correct current
level of Wi-Fi security.I have several access points, but they’re all unified under a single name.