Today at the Windows(r) Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2001, Microsoft Corp. announced plans to support the emerging IEEE 802.1x local area networks and security standard in its technologies. In addition, several leading manufacturers and service providers also voiced their support for the standard (see attached quote sheet). Built-in support for the emerging IEEE 802.1x standard will enable easy deployment of secure networks in the enterprise, home and public places. This is especially beneficial to public network access providers and the users of WiFi wireless LANs (802.11), enabling easy, automatic and secure connectivity any time, any place using PCs, laptops or other smart devices.

Microsoft also announced support for IEEE 802.1x in the Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP operating system, which reached another significant milestone today when the beta 2 version was delivered to tens of thousands of beta testers. Support for the standard is part of the beta version. IEEE 802.1x support in Windows XP will enable automatic configuration, greater security and more flexibility for people on the go.

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