Summary: Wireless encryption hardware support is actually only half the battle. Knowing whether or not it will be used is the other. And it likely will not.
I've read all of your various articles on wireless security, WEP, WPA, etc., but can find no definitive guidance on exactly how to determine if my wireless network card in my Dell Inspiron Laptop supports any secure connection methods. I'm certain it does, but how can I tell? Also, some of the Microsoft articles I've read today and earlier about setting up a WPA-secure machine are not entirely intuitive (or understandable, for that matter).
Without WPA engaged, I shall simply continue avoiding hotels with wireless-only service and rely on MS Firewall and Zone Alarm when dealing with hotel wired access. But, if I could learn to trust WiFi, my traveling Internet vistas would be expanded greatly.
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The question is very simple: how do I know if my computer supports WEP or WPA?
The problem is that the follow-on paragraph shows some common misconceptions about using WEP or WPA when traveling.
I'll put it this way: your hardware support is the least of your issues.
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To actually answer your question, I don't have a quick way to determine across all possible wireless adapters whether they support WPA or WEP or not. My advice is to simply check the documentation for your machine or for the wireless adapter - it's almost always called out as a feature.
It's probably safe to say that all adapters still in use that you're likely to come across will support WEP, and most all modern adapters will support WPA as well.
I also need to make note of something important relating to WEP versus WPA. Both are encryption standards that are intended to keep your data private as it travels wirelessly between your computer and the wireless router or access point. The problem is that WEP is basically useless. It turns out that it's very easy to crack, and it's almost as bad as connecting with no encryption at all.
So I'm not going to talk about WEP. Use it only as a last resort, and even then, act as if you weren't using it at all.
Now, about that misconception.
The implication from the second paragraph is that if you knew your hardware supported WPA you would feel safer using wireless in public areas.
The problem is that it's not your choice. Whether or not WPA encryption is used is a choice made at the wireless router or access point - i.e. the "other end" of your wireless connection. You simply configure your wireless receiver to match. If the wireless access point is not using encryption, then you can't force it to.
And most public wireless "hotspots", as in hotels, coffee shops or libraries, do not use encryption. That's the reason they're called "open" hotspots - anyone can come by and use it.
You'll know it's open because you won't need to provide a password, and that's exactly the way these locations want it. They could provide a secure connection, but then they'd have to post or make available the password required to access the wireless network. I assume they don't because of the additional support burden: people mistype passwords all the time and your local barista probably won't be able to help you with password or related connectivity problems. They want it to be extremely easy to use, and that means open - in every sense of the word.
Open as in unencrypted.
Now, if, when you attempt to connect to a wireless network, you're asked to provide the network password or key, then you're using some form of encryption. That's how you'll tell. After having connected with the correct password, you'll be able to examine the properties of the connection to see whether that was WEP or WPA.
It's likely that having WPA support on your laptop will not help you one whit when it comes to increasing your security in public places. That's not to say you should avoid them; you'll just need to make sure to take additional steps to stay safe wirelessly when connecting on an open network.
Related:
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How do I stay safe in an internet cafe? When connecting to the internet in an internet cafe, hotspot or other public connection you could be opening yourself up to serious security issues.
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How can I keep data on my laptop secure? Laptops are portable, convenient and easily lost. When lost all the data could easily be available to the finder. Encryption is the answer.
Article C3504 - September 17, 2008
one question - if the hot-spot turns on the encryption but openly announce the password would it still protect my computer from snooping by others connected to the same hot-spot?
I have heard that there are potential improvements in the works, but that's a ways off.
-Leo