Re: Wireless router

jKILLSPAM.schipper@math.uu.nl wrote:

>DigitalVinyl <DigitalVinyl@internet.com> wrote:
>> Duane Arnold <notme@notme.com> wrote:
>>
>>>bassbag <bassbag@bodybags.dragon.wales> wrote in
>>>news:MPG.1df5683f53bb8ece989689@news.ispserve.co.uk:
>>>
>>>> Im thinking of getting a belkin wireless router for my single home pc.
>>>> http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/Specifications.asp?ProductID=2074
>>>>
>>>> Just how secure are they compared with direct connection routers if
>>>> WEP is used.
>>>
>>>I keep hearing the WEP is easily crack able now. You want WPA.
>>
>> Yes, but only to people who are technically savvy enough to do this
>> which eliminates 99% of the peopel who work in the IT Industry and
>> therfore 99.999& of all people.
>>
>> WEP is less CPU intensive than WPA. The other issue is there can still
>> be some incopmpatibility from different vendors with WPA. If you don't
>> have a lot of visitors it isn't a problem.
>
>> If you don't believe you have hackers next door, your security is
>> relatively safe. You just want to stop casual usage of your network by
>> wandering strangers. Wireless technolphiles could use a wireless
>> sniffer to watch the packet-by-packet conversation. However, as a
>> professional networking person, I can tell you there are precious few
>> people in the industry that have any real capability of understanding
>> and reading packet traces. Even less that have access and can read a
>> wireless sniffer. And fewer still could crack the WEP key to try and
>> join your network.
>>
>>
>> You could use MAC filtering to prevent people from using your network.
>> Some users have difficulty even managing that much-simpler router-ony
>> change.
>>
>> It largely depends upon your comfort level with technolgoy.
>
>I am not a computer or computer security professional, but looking up a
>tool like aircrack I should be able to figure out how to perform the
>attack in a couple of hours, given suitable hardware (which I'm not
>interested in purchasing).

1) you are using Newsgroups. Ask around and find out how many people
around you know what a newsgroup is. Most ask "what website is that?"

2) User-Agent: tin/1.6.2-20030910 ("Pabbay") (UNIX) (OpenBSD/3.8
(i386)). I'm not sure if this is you, but if it is--you are using a
Unix machine. You already know you are something of a rarity and are
more capable than 75% of the public Windows users.

3) Most people will not make a concerted effort. If it can't be done
in 15-30 minutes it is too hard. Its like the whole world is suffering
from ADD

The world lives and dies on security through obscurity. And I'm not
talking about computer security. All security relies 90% of the time
on people not knowing what questions to ask, nor where to look, or how
to use the information if they had it.

Lastly cracking a WEP key gets you on the network. It does not make
spying any easier. You still have to do wireless sniffing or get in or
attack a PC, assuming people haven't left themselves wide open--which
is the bigger risk. And there's what people should pay attention to.
The bigger more likely risks. The chance your neighbor is making a
concerted effort to hack your WEP key is incredibly tiny. Meanwhile
you may be sharing your laptop's hard drive out and everytime you go
to a Starbucks with it people are browsing your harddrive.

>While it's always nice to be told that you are better than 99% of the
>computing industry, I have some trouble believing this. Of course,
>without tools, that would be true - but there are rather effective tools
>out there, or so I've heard.
>
> Joachim

I can speak from 15 years experience. The majority of IT workers have
very little understanding of how a Wired network works. Even less of
wireless. People know the basics... IP address, subnet, gateway, dns
server, wins, WEP key... but go beyond those elementals and their
understanding degrades quickly into guesstimation. The network is
still mostly magic.
Received on Sat Dec 3 04:18:46 2005