sorry, I will speak about the starter subject only, even if it's outdated now.
No. Deliberately weakening your network security in response to someone else's (hardware) policy is unhealthy. You are at risk if you continue to use WEP. It is a fact.
The latest attack can compromise your security in 1-2 minutes. That's the time that it takes to collect data. The actual calculation took 3 *seconds* on a notebook-grade cpu.
what security risk do you speak ?
I'm thinking the same as Hitto, I have an opened Wi-Fi called "DS Wii-fi". I even once named the SSID "Wifi of *myname* just ask me to get access for free". Nobody used it ever.
And if it were the case, what could happen ? they will use my bandwidth ? great for them.
They will access my private folders ? great for them, they will find roms to play with, anime to watch, US TV series to see before everyone, good for them I'm willing to share
I'm not sharing all my computer, and sensible folders are password protected or not shared.
If it's only a risk for data transmitted over the wifi (like credit card while paying on a secure website ? to bad it's secured), I think as Hitto, I'm not on a Campus. My Wi-Fi is not expanding very far, if I go outside my home there is no signal, only very near neighbors may receive it.
In all my neighborhood I may be the only one geek enough to know what a WEP is, or to know how to use computer for something else than ebay and IE. If they really want to crack, they will need a very specific computer/router/WiFi chipset, and with that pro materials they don't need to crack a computer to use internet, they have their own access and their own better programs than anyone else. I don't think they are attracted by poor neighbors data near them. someone willing to crack a computer have far better data than poor user, and it doesn't need anything form them.
Now if you fear your data to be deleted, you lack chance if you found a villain hacker.
Now tell me you are a very important company with sensible data, bank, school, army, NOW i understand the need of a security protocol.
Edit :
Now I'm under mac address filtering, even if I know Linux can spoof mac address easily.
Like you said Phil, you need to know computer very well before that ^^