AirPort Blog

The AirPort 3.3 software includes the latest Wi-Fi security update--for AirPort Cards: Apple has finally added Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) support to the original AirPort Card. AirPort Extreme users have been able to use WPA for a couple of months.

This upgrade is available only to Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) users, and Apple has historically not released AirPort software for versions of the OS older than about 6 to 9 months, so a 10.2 or 9.2 update seem unlikely.

WPA fixes the weaknesses found in the original Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) system that was the only method of encrypting the wireless link between a card and a base station until WPA was released. WPA provides robust security that's more than enough for any small office or home.

You can only use WPA with base stations or wireless gateways that support it, of course. According to information provided to me a few months ago, it's clear that the original AirPort Base Station does not have the capability to be upgraded to WPA compliance.

AirPort Extreme Base Stations support WPA, as do devices from Buffalo, Linksys, and others.

For more on WPA, you can read about it in the book that Adam Engst and I co-wrote on Wi-Fi and wireless, The Wireless Networking Starter Kit, 2nd edition, which was published Nov. 2003, and includes details on WPA. An update on using Apple's WPA tools is on the Web site, too.