<s>
In	O
computer	B-Device
networking	I-Device
,	O
a	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
point	I-Device
(	O
WAP	O
)	O
,	O
or	O
more	O
generally	O
just	O
access	O
point	O
(	O
AP	O
)	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
networking	B-Device
hardware	I-Device
device	O
that	O
allows	O
other	O
Wi-Fi	O
devices	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
a	O
wired	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
standalone	O
device	O
,	O
the	O
AP	O
may	O
have	O
a	O
wired	O
connection	O
to	O
a	O
router	B-Protocol
,	O
but	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
wireless	B-Device
router	I-Device
,	O
it	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
an	O
integral	O
component	O
of	O
the	O
router	B-Protocol
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
AP	O
is	O
differentiated	O
from	O
a	O
hotspot	B-Application
which	O
is	O
a	O
physical	O
location	O
where	O
Wi-Fi	O
access	O
is	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
AP	O
connects	O
directly	O
to	O
a	O
wired	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
,	O
typically	O
Ethernet	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
AP	O
then	O
provides	O
wireless	O
connections	O
using	O
wireless	B-Architecture
LAN	I-Architecture
technology	O
,	O
typically	O
Wi-Fi	O
,	O
for	O
other	O
devices	O
to	O
use	O
that	O
wired	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
many	O
wireless	O
data	O
standards	O
that	O
have	O
been	O
introduced	O
for	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
point	I-Device
and	O
wireless	B-Device
router	I-Device
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
wireless	B-Device
routers	I-Device
provide	O
backward	O
compatibility	O
with	O
older	O
Wi-Fi	O
technologies	O
as	O
many	O
devices	O
were	O
manufactured	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
older	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
people	O
confuse	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
points	I-Device
with	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
ad	I-General_Concept
hoc	I-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
ad	B-Protocol
hoc	I-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
uses	O
a	O
connection	O
between	O
two	O
or	O
more	O
devices	O
without	O
using	O
a	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
point	I-Device
;	O
The	O
devices	O
communicate	O
directly	O
when	O
in	O
range	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
setup	O
is	O
easy	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
require	O
an	O
access	O
point	O
,	O
an	O
ad	B-Protocol
hoc	I-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
is	O
used	O
in	O
situations	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
quick	O
data	O
exchange	O
or	O
a	O
multiplayer	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
its	O
peer-to-peer	O
layout	O
,	O
ad	O
hoc	O
Wi-Fi	O
connections	O
are	O
similar	O
to	O
connections	O
available	O
using	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	O
access	O
via	O
ad	B-Protocol
hoc	I-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
,	O
using	O
features	O
like	O
Windows	B-Application
 '	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Connection	I-Protocol
Sharing	I-Protocol
,	O
may	O
work	O
well	O
with	O
a	O
small	O
number	O
of	O
devices	O
that	O
are	O
close	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
,	O
but	O
ad	B-Protocol
hoc	I-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
do	O
not	O
scale	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
internet-enabled	O
nodes	O
,	O
access	O
points	O
have	O
a	O
clear	O
advantage	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
having	O
a	O
wired	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
(	O
as	O
of	O
2013	O
)	O
high-density	O
256-QAM	O
(	O
TurboQAM	O
)	O
modulation	O
,	O
3-antenna	O
wireless	O
devices	O
for	O
the	O
consumer	O
market	O
can	O
reach	O
sustained	O
real-world	O
speeds	O
of	O
some	O
240	O
Mbit/s	O
at	O
13	O
m	O
behind	O
two	O
standing	O
walls	O
(	O
NLOS	O
)	O
depending	O
on	O
their	O
nature	O
or	O
360	O
Mbit/s	O
at	O
10	O
m	O
line	O
of	O
sight	O
or	O
380	O
Mbit/s	O
at	O
2	O
m	O
line	O
of	O
sight	O
(	O
IEEE	O
802.11ac	O
)	O
or	O
20	O
to	O
25	O
Mbit/s	O
at	O
2	O
m	O
line	O
of	O
sight	O
(	O
IEEE	O
802.11g	O
)	O
,	O
wired	O
hardware	O
of	O
similar	O
cost	O
reaches	O
closer	O
to	O
1000	O
Mbit/s	O
up	O
to	O
specified	O
distance	O
of	O
100	O
m	O
with	O
twisted-pair	O
cabling	O
in	O
optimal	O
conditions	O
(	O
Category	O
5	O
(	O
known	O
as	O
Cat-5	B-Protocol
)	O
or	O
better	O
cabling	O
with	O
Gigabit	O
Ethernet	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
a	O
typical	O
54	O
Mbit/s	O
wireless	O
connection	O
actually	O
carries	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
data	O
at	O
20	O
to	O
25	O
Mbit/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
wired	O
networks	O
base	O
the	O
security	O
on	O
physical	O
access	O
control	O
,	O
trusting	O
all	O
the	O
users	O
on	O
the	O
local	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
,	O
but	O
if	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
points	I-Device
are	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
network	O
,	O
anybody	O
within	O
range	O
of	O
the	O
AP	O
(	O
which	O
typically	O
extends	O
farther	O
than	O
the	O
intended	O
area	O
)	O
can	O
attach	O
to	O
the	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
generation	O
encryption	O
scheme	O
,	O
WEP	B-Protocol
,	O
proved	O
easy	O
to	O
crack	O
;	O
the	O
second	O
and	O
third	O
generation	O
schemes	O
,	O
WPA	O
and	O
WPA2	B-Protocol
,	O
are	O
considered	O
secure	O
if	O
a	O
strong	O
enough	O
password	O
or	O
passphrase	O
is	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
APs	O
support	O
hotspot	B-Application
style	O
authentication	O
using	O
RADIUS	B-Protocol
and	O
other	O
authentication	B-Application
servers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
2008	O
article	O
for	O
Wired	O
magazine	O
,	O
Bruce	O
Schneier	O
asserted	O
the	O
net	O
benefits	O
of	O
open	B-Application
Wi-Fi	I-Application
without	O
passwords	O
outweigh	O
the	O
risks	O
,	O
a	O
position	O
supported	O
in	O
2014	O
by	O
Peter	O
Eckersley	O
of	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Frontier	O
Foundation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
opposite	O
position	O
was	O
taken	O
by	O
Nick	O
Mediati	O
in	O
an	O
article	O
for	O
PC	O
World	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
he	O
advocates	O
that	O
every	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
point	I-Device
should	O
be	O
protected	O
with	O
a	O
password	O
.	O
</s>
