Wireless internet users

[MizzouRah]

They had a guy with a laptop and a wireless nic card drive around to random neighborhoods around town and show how easy it was to access people's wireless networks. He could surf the web, download songs, browse porn, get onto people's hard drives and access pictures, credit card info, etc...

It was amazing how many people don't know how to set their security settings on their wireless routers. MAKE SURE your network is secure from outside intruders.

He downloaded one guys credit card info, pictures of his family, and then knoocked on his door and showed him what he was broadcasting to the world.

Just an fyi....


Todd

[Draft Dodger]

gee, really?


:)

(btw, you can't TOTALLY secure your wireless network - if someone really needs to get in...they will)

[cartman]

Another reason I'm glad I live on 2 acres in a gated community!

I did a "war walk" around my property line, and the signal isn't strong at all at the property boundaries. So I'm relying on security through obscurity!

[primelord]

(btw, you can't TOTALLY secure your wireless network - if someone really needs to get in...they will)
This is incorrect.

[DaddyTorgo]

speaking of wireless internet...does anyone have any theories why i can't get mine to work? I have a card...the MAC address of the card is even loaded into the management software, I have it all password-setup and everything. Then when I plug the card in I get nothing. Well actually I get a connection, I just get no data packets being passed. What gives??

[bigphesta]

I am sitting in my appartment right now using someone else's wireless. I have cable and I could reach over and plug in the ethernet cord from my land router to my laptop but I'm lazy and don't feel like it.

[Eaglesfan27]

I like the new encryption protocols with 802.11g. At least I think my network is much harder to break into now.

[NYFAN]

Hey Todd can you e-mail me at costar @ wlu.edu i have some q's about that

[moriarty]

They had a guy with a laptop and a wireless nic card drive around to random neighborhoods around town and show how easy it was to access people's wireless networks. He could surf the web, download songs, browse porn, get onto people's hard drives and access pictures, credit card info, etc...



OK, call me a technical idiot, but isn't there a difference between accessing someone's wireless network and accessing their hard drive? I mean if someone wants to use my bandwidth big deal (until they start downloading illegal stuff or intercepting my credit card transactions).

But how do you go from there to accessing my hard drive? Shouldn't my firewall protect against incoming requests?

[ice4277]

I just set up a wireless network for the first time at home last week, and as soon as I turned my laptop w/ the wireless card in it on, it found two other networks unprotected that I could gain access to. I thought that was pretty funny.

[mhass]

My in-laws live on a city lot in St. Louis. My wireless cards can find six other networks from their neighbors, but the signal isn't strong enough to do anything with. Seeing a network and using it are two very different things.

[Ben E Lou]

There is a small business in downtown Tucker that has a wireless network that is always on and unprotected. THS is right at the end of Main Street, and if I'm at the front of the gym, I can sometimes access the 'net and e-mail via my IPAQ. Having that IPAQ has been eye-opening to the number of homes that have completely unprotected wireless 'net access. My office is at a church in the middle of a very residential area that is quite affluent. When I'm stopped at one stop light in particular, I've turned on the IPAQ and detected as many as 8 different networks in one spot--most of 'em with not even a password. :eek:

[Dutch]

Damn, that's a great ad for iPaq. "Buy an iPaq and pay no internet access charges...ever!"

[Ben E Lou]

OK, call me a technical idiot, but isn't there a difference between accessing someone's wireless network and accessing their hard drive? I mean if someone wants to use my bandwidth big deal (until they start downloading illegal stuff or intercepting my credit card transactions).

But how do you go from there to accessing my hard drive? Shouldn't my firewall protect against incoming requests?Well, my home network has two computers on it, so it is used for more than just web browsing: it is an actual network that I use to access files from one computer to the other (great for playing a dynasty on one machine, and posting about it on the other, for example). If a hacker could get past my firewall, they could access the folders I have shared, and I'd imagine they'd know how to get into the stuff I don't even have shared. I would imagine that there are some people who have multiple machines that can access each others' hard drives and do NOT have firewalls or password-protection.

[Ben E Lou]

Damn, that's a great ad for iPaq. "Buy an iPaq and pay no internet access charges...ever!"If I lived in Downtown Athens, GA, that would be the case. Word is it, also, that there is a movement for a huge wifi internet network that covers a large portion of Atlanta.

[MizzouRah]

Right now, it is LEGAL to use someone's wireless network, but ILLEGAL to gain access to one's hard drive, but it's just a warning... it can be done. Most networks can be fairly secure by going to your router's manufacture site and making sure you have your security options turned on.

I don't use a wireless network, nor do I have the desire to do so. I was just shocked at how unsecure most people's wireless networks are.

..and BTW, you can buy a signal booster that will allow you to use weaker signals (cartman) :)

Todd

[spleen1015]

I finally went wireless last week. I made sure to setup all of the security. I think setting it up so that the name of your network isn't broadcast is a good idea.

[Dutch]

That's the key. When I purchased and set up my wireless network, I set it up with the security measures it recommended (Encryption keys and password changes). It won't make you totally safe, but it will stop the neighborhood kids from invading your network.

[DanGarion]

But remember some people leave their wireless networks open for others to have free access. (which in my mind is stupid since you "can" be held liable for actions on your internet connection).

There are many ways to secure a wireless network, each to a different degree. Not broadcasting your SSID, WEP, MAC filtering, WPA, or one of the more secure ways like having your wireless router utilize an internal server for verfication (which the name of the software is slipping my mind right now).

[flere-imsaho]

I just use the MAC filtering. I know it's possible to spoof MAC addresses, but I'm not in a high-risk neighborhood, so I'd be surprised if someone wanted to work that hard to get on my network.

I also check the logs every once in a while for odd activity, but haven't seen any.

If I was in a high-risk neighborhood (near students, especially), I'd probably upgrade to "G" and do some stuff with WEP.

[gstelmack]

And this is why I still put up with the hassles of running ethernet cable through my house...

[cartman]

..and BTW, you can buy a signal booster that will allow you to use weaker signals (cartman) :)
Todd

Oh, I know. I use one of these when I'm running AirSnort or NetStumbler... :D

But like I said, if someone goes through all of the trouble of getting through the front gate, then scanning a sparsely populated area, just to leech my bandwidth, then they are welcome to it... :)

[BrianD]

OK, call me a technical idiot, but isn't there a difference between accessing someone's wireless network and accessing their hard drive? I mean if someone wants to use my bandwidth big deal (until they start downloading illegal stuff or intercepting my credit card transactions).

But how do you go from there to accessing my hard drive? Shouldn't my firewall protect against incoming requests?

Generally, your wireless network exists on the inside of your firewall. Communication between machines on your local network doesn't touch the firewall.