WEP was cracked years ago and nobody who cares about the security of their wireless network uses WEP passwords any more.

Bad news: a new, free, open-source tool, Reaver, has been developed that exploits a security hole in wireless routers to allow anyone to crack the tougher WPA password on most routers. It’s not that WPA itself has been cracked, so once you fill the loophole you should be protected again.

In the spirit of forewarned is forearmed, here’s the step-by-step approach to cracking a WPA or WPA2 password using Reaver and most importantly the how to for protecting your network against such an attack.

How to.