enOehT
Premium
join:2003-05-17
Norristown, PA
edit:
February 8th, @01:27AM
| No WEP or WPA for me!
I don't use these encryption techniques cause they just don't work and they limit my bandwidth. But I am VERY secure. Here is how:
1) I use 802.11g in "G" mode only, this prevents the majority, 802.11b users, from connecting, while boosting my overall potential throughput.
2) I do NOT broadcast my SSID, so my AP will NOT show up on a list of available APs.
3) My SSID is not the garden variety "LINKSYS", so I am safe from someone guessing.
4) I have my AP set up to ONLY allow my one MAC address of my 802.11g card access. So someone would have to crack my MAC address.
5) Finally, and this is the one I like the most, I set up the DHCP range to only allow for one IP address. So if I am on, I would be alerted to the fact that another computer is trying to use my same internal IP.
This works for me, and I live in a densely populated high rise. I feel like I am invisible to the rest of the building, while there are tons of people in my building using off-the-shelf LINKSYS with no security at all. Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother to pay for bandwidth when there are tons of unknowing "free nets" all over. |
|
jsinaiko
Premium
join:2001-04-25
Chicago, IL
 ·AT&T Midwest
| I certainly use WEP with a strange and long passphrase, along with a strange SSID. But the main thing is the number of default SSID's out there. I can see three as I write this - I'm in the city - all of them having SSID's like 2WIRE321 or LINKSYS, or belkin. And none of them have any encryption or other protection.
It's like the river, which flows over the path of least resistance. As long as there are four or five unprotected wifi's out there for every protected one, the folks who want to break in will take the easy route. Will a burgler crack a safe when there is an open cash drawer next to it? Until everyone is encrypted, WPA, WEP, whatever, as long as you are protected, its gonna be the other guy who gets hit. |
|
enOehT
Premium
join:2003-05-17
Norristown, PA
| What ever happened to the concept of the Free Net!
True, and how are you suppose to know if someone isn't just setting up a FREE NET? When WiFi first started people were intentionally leaving wireless unprotected so that anyone within range could use it. So, is one to assume if you stumble onto an unprotected AP that it is a person who didn't bother to hide it, or more likely didn't know how to hide it, OR that it is a FREE NET that someone setup for that purpose? |
|
Kompressor
Premium
join:2002-02-12
Huntington Beach, CA
| reply to enOehT
Re: No WEP or WPA for me!
lol, You are VERY UNsecure if you're not using encryption.
1) An average user isn't going to try to hack your connection, and if they are, they're probably going to use an 802.11a/b/g card to do it.
2) Turning off the broadcast SSID does basically nothing. You'll stop a casual user from seeing your network, but who cares if a casual user sees it because all hackers can.
3) So you change your SSID. So what?
4) It is extremely easy to spoof your MAC address when you're running an unencrypted network. You don’t seem to understand that unencrypted signals are as easily read as post cards in the mail.
5) Again, extremely easy to spoof. The only way you'll be alerted is when you get disconnected from the network, and at that time, you'll probably just think it's a technical issue. Do you sit at your computer 24/7? If the hacker knows what he’s doing, the both of you will be connected at the same time. And the hacker isn’t going to show up in your DHCP clients table.
I'm sure it /does/ work for you. But no one would want to hack your computer because I'm sure you have nothing of value, and there are apparently allot of other people in your building to get their Internet connection. But let me say this, you are a perfect example of someone who knows nothing who thinks they know everything. 
Nothing is perfect, including WEP and WPA, but it's sure as hell better than nothing, and it's sure as hell better than what you're doing. |
|
enOehT
Premium
join:2003-05-17
Norristown, PA
edit:
February 8th, @04:51PM
| well, according to this article, encryption is not good either. so I guess if you use wireless you are damned no matter what you do. |
|
GNXPower
Got Boost?
Premium
join:2003-12-18
Huntington Beach, CA
| reply to enOehT
Limit what bandwidth? I use 128b WEP and while not perfect, it's pretty good, especially considering how little traffic I generate "should" make it difficult to defeat as I change my extremely random WEP keep fairly frequently (about twice a month). That said I have no problems getting the 5-6Mb of my provider connections and 20-30mb to my fileserver when using XPress. As stated by others, hiding and/or changing the SSID does little, MACID's can be spoofed.
--
Don't have it?!? Demand it!!! The Anime Network »www.theanimenetwork.com |
|
gc04
| reply to enOehT
(1) using 802.11g will not protect you in the long run.
(2) although your AP does not broadcast your SSID, I can still listen for it when your card associates with the access point - this is easily done with a utility such as kismet.
(3) see (2) above.
(4) I will get your MAC address when you associate with your own AP in (2).. when you're offline I can become your MAC address.
(5) I won't try to connect while you're on, as I'll assume that you're using MAC address filtering when I can't associate despie having programmed the right SSID.
RTFRFC.. |
|
