What is WEP Key?
WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy, a standard Wi-Fi wireless network security feature. A WEP key is a series of hexadecimal (numbers and letters) digits with letters ranging from A-F and numbers from 0-9. WEP is very commonly mistaken for the term Wireless Encryption Protocol.

A WEP key allows computer devices within a local network to communicate with each other through the exchange of encoded messages. The use of a WEP key allows these member computers to read and access each other’s messages while keeping the communication private and inaccessible to outside parties.

A network administrator has the privilege of assigning a WEP key, and these apply to Wi-Fi routers and adapters, along with other similar wireless network devices.

There are many weaknesses in the system that have been uncovered by cryptanalysts (or people who study encrypted information). Despite this, a WEP key is still used by many and is the frontline choice for router configuration tool security.