Wireless Internet..

[kph]

This might be obvious to others but it was an eye opener to me.

I was at a friends place this morning and they were describing how their laptop with a wireless connection picks up a signal from someone elses connection in the neighbourhood, and a as result they can get free internet access.

Well I was in the process of getting a replacement laptop, so we picked one up this afternoon, and when I got it home and booted it up...it did the very same thing !

Its picking up someones else wireless access and I am online as a result.

Is this common ?
What does it all mean ??

kp

 

[mja]

Hi kp,

It just means that the wireless router you are connecting to hasn't been "locked down" and is allowing anyone to use their connection.

This happens mostly because people buy a wireless router, plug it in and it 'just works'. They just forget to lock it down, ie install a WEP/PreShared key and turn off SSID broadcasting.

-- MJ.

 

[kph]

Thanks for that.
Sorta makes sense.

I also got a wireless modem and I guess when I set that up I should do the 'lock down' thing.

How do you go about doing that ??
I mean are there instruction on how to do this ( install WEP/preshared key, turn off SSID broadcasting...)

Also, if there are 3 computers in use in the home, will they all still acccess the wireless modem if you do the above ?

Man am I ignorant when it come to all this technology.

The other thing is, I have heard that there are hubs where you can access wireless internet, such as airports, etc.

How do you pay if you pick up a signal on your laptop when you're at an airport? Is it free ?

kp

 

[jscott]

Most of the wireless access points provided around the city and at airports are pay for access, although some coffee shops have free connections so long as your buying coffees.
As for protecting your own wireless network it is extremely simply and is usually as hard as specifying a password. WEP is (or was) the most common option though it can be easily cracked in about 5 minutes by someone that REALLY badly wants to get into your network - pretty unlikely but possible. The better option is WPA encryption which is standard on most wireless products these days.

 

[Rolf Latham]

Hiya

Free :O)

The danger is of course that your system is likely at the mercy of others with this set up - they can see the data in your machine?

ta
rolf

 

[RichardC]

Hiya

Free :O)

The danger is of course that your system is likely at the mercy of others with this set up - they can see the data in your machine?

ta
rolf

You trust the airline with you life but not your internet. Interesting!

 

[AlmostBob]

The lockdown of a wifi network can be quite specific MAC numbers (the code embedded in the wireless card/bluetooth/onboardchip) can be specified for the client computers, the network does not broadcast status, or answer broadcasts from other than pre-identified pcs. with hardware specific lockdown there is no extra required authentification beyond the windows login required, no need to login to the network, for identified machines the network is automatically on, for others it does not exist. and there is less chance of a sniffer locating the network as the gateway will not answer.

 

[Rolf Latham]

Hiya Thommo

If the airliner was run by Windows ..............................with no manual blue screen over ride, then nooooooooooo I wouldnt trust that

ta
rolf

 

[The Y-man]

Hiya Thommo

If the airliner was run by Windows ..............................with no manual blue screen over ride, then nooooooooooo I wouldnt trust that

ta
rolf

The planes would of course crash for no apparent reason.

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[The Y-man]

.

Is this common ?
What does it all mean ??

kp

This is particularly common in apartment blocks. Someone was telling me that they found their wireless router to be unconfiged (open to all) even though he thought he had locked it down the night before.

So he went through the process of locking down again. He only later realised he had locked down his neighbour's router (as his bedroom where he had the laptop was closer to the neighbours point than his own)

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[Aceyducey]

Yeah this is one of the big issues with wireless that hasn't yet been properly addressed for home users.

It's one of the reasons I run ethernet rather than have gone wireless as yet.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[jscott]

WPA is very simple to turn on and solves the problem without having to stuff around with MAC addresses and routing entries etc.
Unless you have national-secrets stored on your network its as safe as you would need.
People should read the manual instead of just plugging things in.

 

[AlmostBob]

I like stuffing around in mac addresses
security
& more security

 

[geoffw]

Many years ago, you could buy a gadget which would broadcast the TV signal from the VCR in the lounge to the TV in the bedroom. Then they became unavailable for a few years.

There were too many complaints from people who were picking up dirty movies in the flat next door.

 

[yadreamin]

I,ve got one of those. [in the shed]
It never used to work that well.Picture always a bit snowy.

 

[Ace73]

I have wireless at my place plus also pick up the neighbours insecure broadcast. I'm just running mac addresses and wep as my older wireless card for my desktop doesn't support wpa. There is a bit of stuff flying around the tech chat rooms about how wpa when used at home using a key phrase isn't that secure and can be hacked as well. Here is a link that explains it a bit better and what you can do to improve wpa security.
http://www.netstumbler.com/2003/11/08/new_wpa_security_breach_discussed_during_ratification_process/

I had a similar issue when trying to access my router and was wondering why I couldn't access as it turns out I was trying to access my neighbours router by mistake. I have told them that their wireless is insecure and anyone can jump on it. But they weren't concerned and made comments that it can all be hacked anyway so whats the point. I even offered to lock it down for them but they said it was fine. You can only push the point so far, and I suppose now at least I have a backup if mine is down for any reason.

I like the look of the wireless network that telstra offers the only thing that puts me off is the high price and tiny download limits. Would be great though for when you are travelling around the country and not having to worry about getting access to internet to stay connected to cyber world.
Is anybody currently using this network?? I would appreciate any feed back good and bad.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[jscott]

There is a bit of stuff flying around the tech chat rooms about how wpa when used at home using a key phrase isn't that secure and can be hacked as well. Here is a link that explains it a bit better and what you can do to improve wpa security.
http://www.netstumbler.com/2003/11/08/new_wpa_security_breach_discussed_during_ratification_process/

Yeah - everything is crackable depending on how much effort you go to. Thats why I was saying that WPA is the best unless you have national secrets that you need to hide.

As with any sort of authentication you shouldn't use short simple to guess passwords.

 

[Ajax]

Once visited a Chinese friend who was renting a house in Cabramatta. His next door neighbours (an elderly Aussie couple) complained to me that he was running power up his TV antenna and broadcasting (my friend had made a career out of installing unlicensed satellite dishes he imported from China which picked up about 90 channels so there could have been some truth to this).

They complained that they'd be halfway through watching the news when their TV screen (every station) would be hijacked by whatever Chinese movie my friend and his family were watching.


Ajax

 

[BBarnes]

Hello, all,
Apologies for being a little off-topic with this.
I have just switchd my laptop default text to 'Clear-Type' fonts, and I like the effect more than the standard setup.
Does anyone else use this, rather than the default?
Thanks,
Bill

 

[keithj]

It's not just about security

I have told them that their wireless is insecure and anyone can jump on it. But they weren't concerned and made comments that it can all be hacked anyway so whats the point.

So they're on an unlimited bandwidth plan & don't mind people using it ?????? And slowing down their linespeeds too ?????