Corp000085 Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 I had my wife's laptop in school with me today so i could finish installing stuff on it. Anyways, office wasn't done installing when it was time to go, so i left it on for the 20 minute ride home. I decided to see what my wireless card would pick up, the signal strength, and if anything was secured. Well, my results are as follows: 38 Total wireless networks detected. 1 with a person's last name... name was the SSID as well as painted on the mailbox as we drove by. 1 with a TELEPHONE NUMBER!!! as the ssid. 36, yes 36 SSID's either labeled "linksys", "default", or "NETGEAR". Ok, of those 38 detected networks, one single network had WPA enabled, and one had WEP enabled... Ironically, the one with WEP was the one with the SSID matching their home phone number... I should mention, i was able to do a reverse phone number search to find the location of the phone number ssid from using one of the many "linksys" unprotected networks. On a final note, i have two points of interest... I have mac filtering, a hidden ssid, which is changed weekly to a new set of random letters/numbers, and wpa-psk enabled, also with the psk changing weekly with a different set of random letters/numbers, all running from a Dlink DI-624 c2. DO NOT accuse me of having an unsecure network!! The other point of interest, i was not driving. my wife was. In summation, please secure your network, or if you do have it half secure, make sure you don't do something boneheaded like signing up at donotcall.gov, enabling wep, and making your SSID your phone number. [/RANT]
Hardy Pyle Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 ssshhhh....don't tell everyone that. How do you think I get on the internet for Free...I have a wireless lap top and have about 5 signals to chose from home. Don't ruin it for us free loaders. And no need for the morality police to pipe up about this. I know, I'm going straight to hell for stealing internet signals.
Frez Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 Go sit outside a department store and see how many credit card numbers you pick up. It will amaze you!
Corp000085 Posted March 12, 2005 Author Posted March 12, 2005 frez, i live in fayetteville... people still buy food with beaver pelts here.
Tux of Borg Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 frez, i live in fayetteville... people still buy food with beaver pelts here. 272026[/snapback] The Yadkin 500
Live&DieBillsFootball Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 It's amazing the number of morons who install a wireless network and don't bother to secure it.
drnykterstein Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 I know shut up man, I get free internet from my neighbors wireless. Don't spoil it for those of us smart enough to know what we are doing.
Marv Levy Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 No wonder Identity theft is so freakin high in this country.
jarthur31 Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 It's amazing the number of morons who install a wireless network and don't bother to secure it. 272101[/snapback] Well if those damned things came with great documentation, this wouldn't be a problem. And I hate those idiots who say they hate reading thick manuals. If you can absorb via osmosis, don't brag to those who can't! I happen to enjoy reading and doing things on my own. I don't need my hand held for everything like this sick society does. Sometimes, I don't like Amerika.
SDS Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 ok, humor me... other than stealing bandwidth and perhaps reading my email that is being transmitted back and forth - what are the other dangers? Most financial sites use a secure sockets layer to encrypt your data, so I would think that those transactions are safe from prying eyes. I don't believe they can just see my hard drive without logging in as an authorized user. What is the worst case scenario of someone breaking into your wi-fi network?
elcrusho Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 I set my wireless network up to work with only 3 MAC ID's one for each of my computers...
SDS Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 here is a partial answer to what can happen to your network: http://www.lucidlink.com/media/pdf_autogen...dly_dangers.pdf
SDS Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 here is a list of 2.4 Million wireless networks that people have found across the US. Is yours listed? Mine was not.... http://www.wigle.net/
Fezmid Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 What is the worst case scenario of someone breaking into your wi-fi network? 272249[/snapback] Worst case scenario? Someone uses a P2P software (like Kazaa) to download music illegally. The RIAA then comes knocking on your door because your ISP account was the one used to steal the music. Best case? You pay $3,000 fine and promise never to do it again (and if you don't secure your wireless network at that point, the RIAA may get pissed off at you). Worst case? The RIAA refuses to settle with you and they can sue you for $150,000 PER SONG... (as an aside, doesn't that seem just a bit extreme to anyone else?) I set my wireless network up to work with only 3 MAC ID's one for each of my computers... MAC filtering, while a good step to take, is not foolproof. Anyone can change their MAC address with little or no trouble at all. I have mac filtering, a hidden ssid, which is changed weekly to a new set of random letters/numbers, and wpa-psk enabled, also with the psk changing weekly with a different set of random letters/numbers, all running from a Dlink DI-624 c2. Very impressive; I'd say most people aren't that vigilent. Many people think that if they enable WEP or wpa-psk, they're safe forever. Not true because (especially with WEP), it's trivial to crack the encryption in a week or two (less if you download a lot). You need to change those keys at LEAST every month, preferably every week or two. CW CW
LabattBlue Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 For those who don't want to use additional wireless security features or feel they are too complex, one simple thing you can do is disable the wireless function on the router when you are not using it.
elcrusho Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 Ill change mine to fezmid and se what comes up !
RJsackedagain Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 frez, i live in fayetteville... people still buy food with beaver pelts here. 272026[/snapback] do they have indoor plumbing there yet????
Tux of Borg Posted March 12, 2005 Posted March 12, 2005 ok, humor me... What is the worst case scenario of someone breaking into your wi-fi network? 272249[/snapback] As already stated, you don't want Tracy Lee downloading copyright movies with your IP address. If you have a wide open wireless network, chances are your computer is not updated with the latest patches. So you're running the risk of having every computer on your network rooted. SSL is vulnerable to man in the middle (sometimes called monkey in the middle) attacks. Not very common but still a possibility.
Corp000085 Posted March 12, 2005 Author Posted March 12, 2005 What is the worst case scenario of someone breaking into your wi-fi network? Ok, besides johnny neighbor downloading the latest hoobestank album, what happens if johnny neighbor happens to come across your computer on the network. Chances are if your network is unsecure, you're a novice computer user with a dell. The OEM login name is "owner" with no password. I've got money to bet that you haven't given "owner" a password. He then logs on, steals your turbotax data file, your online bank ledger, your saved internet explorer passwords and history, and johnny, a registered sex offender, comes across your photo album from last christmas, birthday, and "bedroom stuff". Besides the RIAA implications, that's a pretty much worst case scenerio if you ask me.
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