RC4 was first created as a trade secret, but in September 1994 a description of it was posted to the Cypherpunks mailing list. It was soon posted on the sci.crypt newsgroup, and from there to many websites on the Internet. The code was confirmed to be genuine(not fake) as its output matched that of proprietary software using licensed RC4. Because the algorithm is known, it is no longer a trade secret. The name "RC4" is trademarked, however. RC4 is often referred to as "ARCFOUR" or "ARC4" (meaning Alleged RC4, because RSA has never officially released the algorithm), to avoid possible trademark problems. It has become part of some commonly used encryption protocols and standards, including WEP and WPA for wireless cards and TLS.