Connecting to wireless broadband - clueless!

travel_freak

Yikes, scratch that earlier message, I've just read lower down in this bit of the board - I didn't realise it was unsafe/illegal.

How do you safely and legally use your own broadband on the move with a laptop then? I don't like the idea of other people in the road being able to use my broadband and/or read my files.

Can anyone explain simply about what the encryption method is mentioned a few posts down and also what would be the best security device to put on?

Many thanks.

Regards

amcluesent

>would they know that my laptop had linked in<

The logs from the wireless access point would record a connection which could be traced back to your machine, using the unique ID from your laptop's networking equipment.

nearlyrich

If you are not the owner of a wireless network you are breaking the law by accessing one, the one you are accessing belongs to your works or one of your neighbours and they have not set up the security.

If they check it is possible to find out who is on the network but you will probably be ok if they haven't set up security they probably don't check access either.

At home you need broadband service and a wireless router, make sure you set up the security!

I am off to work now so haven't time to type any more but I am sure there will be someone to give you more technical advice soon.

travel_freak

Thanks amclusent, yikes! I was only really curious to see if it worked and logged straight back out. Am worried now, how would they narrow it down to me from the number? Only just got the laptop yesterday and was going through setting it up - I did put my name in as the owner where it asked for this - would that show up?! Oh my God!

woo

I wouldn't worry about it!
your windows owner name will not be shown anywhere. The only thing that could be recorded is your MAC address, which is the unique identifier of your network card.
But that is a big if, i doubt that someone who leaves there wirelss network unsecured would a) be logging who connects b) be able to do anything about it.

This thread will start to give you info about how to secure your network etc
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=121274

travel_freak

Sorry, another question, if I buy broadband and the router how far away can I then use the internet and email from my home? I thought that with broadband you could only use it within your house, which is why I was a bit surprised the laptop came up automatically with a message to say it had found wirless connections? Really am clueless. Is it the router that allows you to still be able to use your laptop to go online at some distance away and, if so, over what sort of distances does this generally work as I live about 20 miles from work?

Many thanks again.

Tallymanjohn

Sorry if it panicked you but it is becoming more of an issue as more people use wireless broadband. To their credit, most ISPs set-up procedures use encryption by default these days so it must be an older system you can 'see'. I'm assuming that you intend to set up your own internet access eventually, in which case you may find it to be a useful method of getting in your neighbour's good books if you can trace the open access point & tell them they are 'open to the world' - in this day & age we need to get on the good side(s) of our neighbours however we can!! A wireless router is only good for a very localised area - depends on the structure of the house, the type of wireless set-up, the way it's configured. The network you can 'see' is unlikely to be more than a few metres away - manufacturers quote distances of 200-300metres but that's in ideal conditions with no walls in the way. Generally you're lucky to get a signal much beyond the walls of your house so, sorry but 20 miles is a definite 'no-no'.

matty_c608

On one note.

I set mine up recently. I've disabled SSID Broadcasting, and also set a 128 Bit WEP Key or something. Is this secure enough?

Many Thanks

Matt.

espresso

matty_c608 wrote:

On one note.

I set mine up recently. I've disabled SSID Broadcasting, and also set a 128 Bit WEP Key or something. Is this secure enough?

Many Thanks

Matt.

Well it depends on what equipment you are using but a 64 character hex string (256 bits) from here as a WPA-PSK would be much better. Disabling your SSID does not make it any more secure!

HTH

kevin.philips

As a rule I keep mine open for anyone to use, I have a great speed with unlimited bandwidth and if I'm not using it, hey ho someone else can, I mean I am still paying for it to be on 24/7 why shouldn't someone use it..?

Now I know what happens if undesirables download content that may not be my choice but my access logs will prove it wasn't from my machine and the firewall has setup quite effective content control using black/white lists and blocks ports used by P2P file sharing applications unless I log in.

I'm all for the free sharing of bandwidth and I shouldn't worry if you connect to someone else's network, it is virtually impossible to trace it back to you based on the MAC address alone.

To help answer the topic though

I'd use WEP encryption (128 bit) with a HEX Shared key which will allow you to create your own password of exactly 26 characters. You will need to set a network SSID which you can choose to broadcast or not.

When someone tyies to connect to your router, they will be able to see it and the status but will need to provide the "password" to use it as an access point.

albertross_2

WEP isn't totally secure, it can be hacked. For the people with no encryption, your emails, web surfing habits are flowing up and down the street for anyone to sniff out of the air, so if you are happy with the possibility that people can see exactly what you are doing and read your mails, passwords, then carry on, if not secure it properly with WPA with a random 63 characters key, turn off ssid broadcasting, and setup mac address filtering:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=2471408&postcount=37

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=2471410&postcount=38

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=121274

No encryption may give others access to your PC and files, and make you more likely to be hit by a virus/worm as well.. If a terrorist happens to be using it, it will be your door that gets smashed in in the early hours of the morning..