Wifi anyone?

[Jonzjob]

An interesting article on Aunty Beeb today...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7052223.stm

We have a livebox with a PC and a laptop connected to it. Both are connected via the 2 possible ethernet connectors, so no security worries.

If you want to know how to use the 'TV' ethernet socket on your livebox for a 2nd 'puter I can let you know how to change it.

[Pierre ZFP]

WEP was broken more than a year ago and was rapidly abandoned. I didn't know that anyone was still using it???? It would be like shouting out your passwords or posting your emails on the garden gate. Why has the Beeb suddenly caught on to this?

WPA-2 is the way to go but even that is not completely secure.

[Onion van man]

Even WPA can be cracked in a matter of minutes. Usually within the first 4 packets of data transfer or so.

[suein56]

[quote user="Onion van man"]Even WPA can be cracked in a matter of minutes. Usually within the first 4 packets of data transfer or so.
[/quote]

But presumably you have to have a strong signal from the wifi spread over a reasonable area for you to be able to intercept any data at all. The wifi signal from my Livebox only transmits over a short distance outside the house, certainly not as far as the garden gate or nearest hedge. So, am I right in thinking I am safe with WEP/WPA in these circumstances?

Concerned of Morbihan

[Deimos]

Probably depends on the cause of the

signal becoming unusable at its limits. If it just runs out of

signal strength then a high gain antenna would help somebody sitting

outside. However, if you have a lot of steel in your walls causing

reflected interference (standing waves) ir other equipment

interfering (noise) then somebody outside would have a lot more

problems.

I think this new metallic roof

insulation will help stop signals spreading out too far (and make

attic rooms harder to get decent coverage in).

I have surveyed industrial freezers

where you could not get a usable signal 1m from an Access Point (but

were fine a bit further away, nut no go a bit further away, etc.)

Real nightmare getting reliable coverage in metallic walled rooms.

However, the same problems can occur even with only a single highly

reflective wall.

Ian

[Onion van man]

[quote user="spg"]

[quote user="Onion van man"]Even WPA can be cracked in a matter of minutes. Usually within the first 4 packets of data transfer or so.

[/quote]

But presumably you have to have a strong signal from the wifi spread over a reasonable area for you to be able to intercept any data at all. The wifi signal from my Livebox only transmits over a short distance outside the house, certainly not as far as the garden gate or nearest hedge. So, am I right in thinking I am safe with WEP/WPA in these circumstances?

Concerned of Morbihan

[/quote]

I think its like everything, You have to be realistic and do the best you can. Use the best encrytion your devices offer, Use a good length complex key (there are some good key gens you can download to help you), Use MAC filtering, Don't broadcast your SSID and reduce the range so it just gives you a full signal where you need it.

I live in a built up area and I can find several unsecured wifi connections, Unless someone has a specific interest in you or your info I would think they would go for easier prey.

As has been said, Objects metalic or otherwise can reduce signal strength.

[suein56]

[quote user="Onion van man"]
I live in a built up area and I can find several unsecured wifi connections, Unless someone has a specific interest in you or your info I would think they would go for easier prey.
[/quote]

We live in a reasonably built-up area in that we are surrounded by residential properties, mostly houses, plein pieds so no flats or suchlike. When I check on wifi connections locally, apart from my secured wifi, there is the unsecured Wifi of my French neighbour who has a Neuf box - which is evidently sending out a far more powerful signal than my Livebox. I have demonstrated to this neighbour how I can receive his signal on my laptop in our garden, even very weakly in our house, but he is not bothered. I have politely suggested to him that he should secure his connection, he shrugged, I even offered to secure his wifi for him, but no, he is still not bothered. Head, banging, brick wall comes to mind.

Our other close neighbour, immediately behind us, has a Livebox too and I cannot 'see' his connection at all. So, IMHO, the Livebox having such a poor area of wifi coverage is quite useful security-wise. 

Sue

[cruddler]

Hi John, I would like to know please.... having managed to lose my wireless adatptor last week

Cheers

Andy

[Jonzjob]

Glad that it worked Andy. Dead easy too init?

[tenniswitch]

[quote user="spg"]

[quote user="Onion van man"]
I live in a built up area and I can find several unsecured wifi connections, Unless someone has a specific interest in you or your info I would think they would go for easier prey.
[/quote]

We live in a reasonably built-up area in that we are surrounded by residential properties, mostly houses, plein pieds so no flats or suchlike. When I check on wifi connections locally, apart from my secured wifi, there is the unsecured Wifi of my French neighbour who has a Neuf box - which is evidently sending out a far more powerful signal than my Livebox. I have demonstrated to this neighbour how I can receive his signal on my laptop in our garden, even very weakly in our house, but he is not bothered. I have politely suggested to him that he should secure his connection, he shrugged, I even offered to secure his wifi for him, but no, he is still not bothered. Head, banging, brick wall comes to mind.

Our other close neighbour, immediately behind us, has a Livebox too and I cannot 'see' his connection at all. So, IMHO, the Livebox having such a poor area of wifi coverage is quite useful security-wise. 

Sue

[/quote]

But do you know that he doesn't have it secured and configured not to broadcast?  Or is that not an option with Livebox?

[AnOther]

Not making light of security however a sense of proportion and actual risk needs to be kept and saying that WEP is like

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]shouting out your passwords or posting your emails on the garden gate[/quote]is not only completely misleading but also, IMHO, scaremongerong in the extreme.

Any security can be broken by someone with the neccessary determination and skills but with so many completely open systems available it's improbable to the point of dismissal that someone would attempt to break into a WiFi system which was protected by even the most rudimentary security measures be it WEP, NOT broadcasting the SSID or MAC address filtering, or combination thereof.