When connecting a laptop to a home router, which combination of security and encryption should be selected for optimal protection?

Selecting WPA2 with AES for connecting a laptop to a home router is optimal for ensuring robust security and encryption. WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) represents a significant advancement over its predecessors, using a more secure protocol that is resistant to many known attacks. When combined with AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), this configuration provides strong encryption for the data transmitted over the wireless network.

WPA2 with AES offers enhanced security features, including stronger encryption keys and improved integrity checking. This makes it much harder for attackers to intercept or manipulate the data being communicated. AES is recognized as one of the most secure encryption standards available, widely used not only in home networking but also in government and financial applications due to its robustness.

In contrast, other options such as WEP with TKIP and WPA with PSK are less secure. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is considered outdated and vulnerable to several types of attacks, while WPA, although an improvement over WEP, still does not provide the same level of security as WPA2. An open network without encryption poses the highest risk, as it allows any nearby device to connect and access network traffic without any safeguards, putting sensitive information at serious risk.

Choosing WPA2 with AES ensures that the connection is well