All wireless can be hacked with free software available on the internet.
WEP is far easier to hack.
However, every now and then, one of the optional wifi selections says "TSA Security, Region 7 (WPA)".
Security comes in various forms. For some of us, it you are in range to intercept the router signal, you are also in reach out and touch you range.
This is exactly why I have never trusted wifi from day one. I still use hard-wired networking and always will. Did I have to make holes in walls? Yes. Did I have to crawl through the attic? Yes. Did I get tired and sweaty? Yes, but my network is secure! :-)
Good advice. But as others are saying, given enough time wifi can/will be hacked.
My password is pretty strong too. I took a sha1 hash of some random file I had on my thumbdrive and use the output for a password. I figure if I make it hard enough to break, they will move on to easier pickings.
Here’s a very good article on the subject:
http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/wireless-password-easily-cracked/
Throughput on many of the older routers had difficulty handling the extra overhead associated with WPA2 or WPA2/PSK, especially when accomodating several clients or streaming video. Since WiFi routers have proven remarkably sturdy (compared to a lot of other comparable computer gear) people tend to keep what they’ve got until it breaks. So it was easier for them just to leave things alone.
You are absolutely correct - with the increased performance and features available in current routers, there is no reason not to adopt a more secure security schema.
My router is wide open. I don’t use a key. It’s too much trouble when people come over. I can’t even connect to it from the garage and my neighbors are too far to tap in. I check the logs periodically and no one has ever tried.
bflr