Sniffer® Portable Professional User's Guide - NetScout

Chapter 4
60 Sniffer Portable Professional
Thirteen ASCII characters or 0x followed by 26 hex characters
is interpreted as a 128-bit key.
NOTE: The four encryption keys in use on a WEP-encrypted
network are all typically the same length — either 40-bit or
128-bit.
NOTE: Key entries appear as asterisks to preserve their
security.
Notes on Hex/ASCII Conversion
If you have previously entered encryption keys in one mode and
then switch to the other (Hex to ASCII or vice-versa), Sniffer
Portable Professional automatically converts your entries as
follows:
When converting from ASCII to hex, key entries of five ASCII
characters appear as 40-bit keys in Hex mode. Similarly, key
entries of 13 ASCII characters appear as 128-bit keys in Hex
mode.
When converting from hex to ASCII, key entries are converted
differently depending on the length specification in the Hex entry
mode:
If None was selected, the entry fields appear empty.
If 40-bit was selected, Sniffer Portable Professional attempts
to convert the hex key into ASCII. If conversion is possible, 5
ASCII characters appear. If conversion is not possible, 0x
followed by 10 hex characters appears.
If 128-bit was selected, Sniffer Portable Professional
attempts to convert the hex key into ASCII. If conversion is
possible, 13 ASCII characters appear. If conversion is not
possible, 0x followed by 26 hex characters appears.