Is your wireless router secure? Have you ever thought about it?

Mr_Oink

lucylucky wrote: »

Can't see anything to tell me how to get free electricity.

Wind power? Solar?

Or traveller style and run a lead into a lampost :-)

lucylucky

Mr_Oink wrote: »

Wind power? Solar?

Or traveller style and run a lead into a lampost :-)

They don't seem to be mentioned in the "spiritual" document.;)

spannerzone

Good thread on making wireless secure but some people certainly go to some lengths!

On advice given I've now set my wireless to hide SSID, use mac filtering, use highest level security, change the WPA2 TKIP passkey every 30 minutes, using a ramdonly generated 48 character password and random username for the router which will change daily, I'm considering using metalised glass on my windows to reduce signal leakage outside of my home, cladding the walls with wire mesh to create a Faraday cage. I'm hoping this should secure my network sufficiently.

I'm sure that this will prevent my very techy neighbours from hacking my wireless, I'm also hoping that the distance of my nearest neighbour to my house will also reduce the likelyhood, that being about 4 miles away from me.

sho_me_da_money

WPA2-AES
Hidden SSID
5ghz Frequency
2.4ghz Disabled
MAC Filtered
Limited DHCP Scope

Secured with the best possible options.

jayme1

there is never any reason to use anything less than WPA2-AES PSK, it is the only one not to have been cracked.

hiding the SSID should never be considered a form of security as most wifi scanners can easily pick up the SSID even when turned off, also it actually makes your devices (mobile phone ect) less secure as they have to constantly 'shout out' "is *wifi name* there?" which will happen all the time when you are out of range. (basically read this for a far better explanation)
hiding the SSID only stops casual wireless snooping (ie person at a bus stop looking for free wifi on their mobile).

Basically if you turn off the SSID of the router then when you go out turn off the wifi on your phone ect so it is not constantly 'looking' for your wifi

also MAC filtering is also a false security as MAC address can easily be spoofed (though much harder than finding out a hidden SSID) certainly never just use MAC filtering without also using encryption.

• basically on a wireless router set the encryption to WPA2 AES PSK,
• use a long random PSK with numbers and symbols (you can always write it down on a peice of paper, you do not have to remember it (or use WPS if your router supports it)),
• change the default SSID,
• turn off remote management of the router,
• and change the default admin password.
• also if you are not going to be connecting loads of different devices frequently then I would also set up and use MAC filtering as it is still a hurdle the hacker would have to get over after cracking your encryption, plus it is useful as you can use it to revoke someones permissions on the network.
• also always enable your routers firewall and the firewall on your computer.

also if you ever connect to somebody elses open wifi remember that you have just opened up your computer to the owner of the wifi (or anyone else on it) and they could basically pwn you.
they can read everything you are sending, feed you false web pages that actually will log you in to the site but they take your username and password, devices like phones may sync your email, contacts, calendar account they can read all that information including passwords in some cases.

my advice you may think you are getting free internet but there is always a very real chance you have just had your computer/phone bent over.

sho_me_da_money

or if you are clued up, you could pwn their network.

In addition to the above, you should also change the default username of the device (if there is an option for that) and the default IP address of the node to something not as obvious as 192.168.1.0/1

If changing the SSID, HIDE it first, then change it.

For other reasons, I have changed the MAC addresses of all my NICs.

It's better to operate on a 5Ghz network as opposed to a 2.4ghz as it emits a shorter wireless range. It is also likely that most war drivers (Google it) are using devices that support 2.4ghz only, which makes connecting to your WLAN impossible without a 5ghz option.

Ain't no sucker gonna get on my WLAN baby.

taxi97w

Mr_Oink wrote: »

Wind power? Solar?

Or traveller style and run a lead into a lampost :-)

A mixture of my own devices.

The point of the article is to show that what we are lead to believe isn't actuality. The UK tax office demanded £3000 off me but I fought that and won. NL customs tried to get me for just over €3000, and I fought that and won.

I've got VPN and get on an unsecured network at home and at the library. I don't have a phone line at all.

MrsE_2

Does it really matter?

Can they do any harm using an unlocked router?

RussJK

MrsE wrote: »

Does it really matter?

Can they do any harm using an unlocked router?

There have been people in this forum who have had their quotas used up by having unsecured wireless, and were hit with stiff bills which had to be sorted out.

Now imagine if someone used your connection to access illegal content, so that it would be traced to you instead of them. Imagine the damage to your reputation if you were investigated for accessing child pornography for instance. Could be messy, and you wouldn't see your hard drive for months as it sat in some crimelab somewhere.

jayme1

RussJK wrote: »

Of course hiding the SSID is a form of security, just as locking doors is a form of security. Sure a dedicated hacker can scan for the SSID, just like a dedicated robber might have a lockpick. The idea is to put the best system in place that is reasonable to do.

no hiding your SSID is really, not ever, any form of security
a better analogy, is if you have a lock on your door, then it doesn't matter if you have a cover covering the lock (hidden SSID) or not (visible SSID), because you are only secure if you actually lock it (WPA2 encryption).
as you can see the end effect of the cover is completely and utterly meaningless to a burglar, it is only if the lock is locked that matters.

if you have encryption and visible SSID this is what happens:
1. layman in the street finds your wireless but it is encrypted, they have no chance of guessing the password so you are safe.
or
2. dedicated hacker finds your SSID but you are still encrypted so are safe

if you have SSID turned off :
1. (with either encryption or no engryption) layman cannot find it or just sees a blank network or 'Other Network'
or
2. a, without encryption hacker was looking for wifi networks with a (free) wifi snooper program that displays the SSID to begin with so hiding SSID was useless to them, he then gains access to the network (time? as fast as connecting to an unsecured network displaying the SSID through windows)
2. b, with encryption exactly the same as displaying SSID above

the only way to secure a wireless network is to have it encrypted with WPA2 AES PSK a strong PSK, hiding the SSID is essentially pointless and a total false sense of security.
just whatever you do always have your wireless encrypted then whether you choose to hide the SSID is a moot point.