Help w/ Security Settings for Mobile Hotspot w/ 2.2

Question

I posted this over on moto's forum yesterday, but so far I've gotten no response. I figured I go ahead & post it here also, to see if some(1) may be able to help me w/ it:
I've searched far & wide, & haven't been able to come up w/ an answer to this. I would very much appreciate any info, advice, or education on this.
When I travel, I use the X to connect my laptop (HP notebook w/ Vista home prem) to the net, thru the hotspot. I've only been able to connect thru the hotspot using the WEP security setting. Since updtg. to (2.2), still can only connect using WEP setting. Now the only post I've been able to find w/ anything @ all about the hotspot & the security settings, was just a post about the steps to initially set it up. That was here on this forum & there were screen shots of pages frm the vzw site that (1) of the vzw employees had posted to answer that question. It showed WAP - 2 being used.
Now frm what I've read & understand, from searching for info on the diff. between the (2) settings, is that WAP / WAP - 2 is a much more secure setting than WEP. Also, I try to read-up on this kind of stuff to learn it, however, I'm still doing just that, learning & don't completely understand the diff. frm a tech. standpnt. I do sometimes do banking & paying bills online while traveling, so this is a major concern for me.
Is the diff. between the security of the (2) settings enough to worry about, as far as the fact that I'm dealing w/ personal info? Obviously, I don't need somebody in next hotel rm., etc., being able to get into my connection & see my info on my laptop. Also, has any(1) had any luck connecting thru the hotspot w/ WAP or WAP - 2 on their laptop? If so, is the problem poss. settings on my laptop? Thank u in advance any help ya'll can offer.
pcw67427

Answer 1

Ahh, okay, P.C., I see what you are talking about.
Network security is something that I've thrown myself into pretty heavily this year as we are more and more deploying networks within our audio and lighting systems for shows and concerts. In one instance, we have digital mixing consoles that can be controlled via that console's editing software running on a PC (or Mac, if you will). There are times where, instead of having the typical huge mixing console, 3 or 4 racks of power supplies, processing and effects units, and other supplies, I have a nice, comfortable chair and my X200 tablet PC mixing the entire show. I use the basic Linksys router connected to my Gateway notebook, the console, or consoles, and the speaker systems' processors. Then I use the X200 and Remote Desktop to, well, remotely control all of that.  One of my purchases later this year will be a real enterprise router, hopefully for more range and speed.
Naturally, it would suck to no end if someone were to hack into my WLAN network, thinking they were logging onto someone's network to steal some internet time. The havoc that this could cause could potentially be a show-stopper. Or in extreme cases, cause some damage from accidental overdriving something. 
Unfortunately, I've only been able to learn some very basic things because of my work load, shows, and just time in general. But I have learned that WEP is fairly easy to crack, while WPA is much, much harder, and WPA-2 being even more secure. What I would learn to know is WHY this is the case. I have enabled the WPA-2 security features in all of my routers. I also use the MAC address filters, although, yes, MAC addresses can be spoofed without too much trouble. But it's another layer of protection.
As I mentioned in the PM, I plan to enable the hotspot feature on my account this week and play with the X's hotspot capability during our upcoming state fair. I'll be looking at the security settings pretty closely since I know how those road guys are (since I AM one, LOL), constantly hunting for a connection to log onto, LOL.
As I said, I'm woefully lacking in thorough knowledge about network security. I'll bet there are some real wizs (wizi?) around here that can be more help than I can. I have heard a couple of IT guys say that they never, ever do banking and financial business on ANY wifi connection, regardless of the security method used. One of these guys has said that he'd rather do banking over a good 3G connection that he would any kind of WLAN. Whether there's anything one way or the other to these claims, I simply don't know, but I'd love to find out.
One thing is for certain...Hotels are FULL of folks hunting for internet connections and logging onto anything they can, err, get their hands on. So it goes without saying that you need better encryption than WEP if you plan to do financial stuff online. I haven't looked, but can you turn off the SSID on the X's hotspot feature? That would at least, not tell the world about the network you have, LOL
Hopefully, I'll learn some more next week. In the meantime, I hope some IT types can comment on this subject, And thanx in advance,
Take care, 
Geri O