The six dumbest ways to secure a wireless LAN

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Armies of hackers?

I believe "wardriving" is more common than you suspect. And your comment that "if you believe him that there are armies of hackers driving around in supertech vans", makes it appear you believe using someone else's poorly secured wireless connection is only available to a very sophisticated "hacker" who needs to spend a lot of money to take advantage of such weaknesses. Who needs a "supertech van"? An ordinary laptop will work fine. If you want a more powerful antenna to pick up signals from further away, those are readily available on-line or perhaps even from your local computer store at a modest cost.

And you don't really need to be very technically knowledgeable to take advantage of unsecured wireless LANs. There are free programs to help you find and take advantage of such poorly secured wireless LANs, though there are plenty of wireless LANS that don't even have WEP turned on, so all you need is a laptop with a wireless connection for those.

Often when I'm working at a client's business, I can get on-line, if I wish, just by connecting to a wireless LAN from some nearby business that doesn't have WEP turned on.

And I find the same is true when I work on clients' home systems. Recently I went to a clients home to fix a problem on his PC. Verizon had just upgraded his Internet service and provided a wireless router. I told him that the router was completely accessible to his neighbors and should at least have WEP turned on. He told me that is how his grandson gets online where he lives. He just uses a neighbor's unsecured wireless LAN. I've worked on his teenage grandson's PC before as well and I know he is not particularly technically knowledgeable, but then he doesn't have to be to use a poorly secured wireless LAN nearby.

If your wireless LAN isn't secure, hopefully anyone else nearby using it won't be using it for some illegal activity.

And as for "last blood gas tests or access the MRI of your kidney stones", how many people store their financial information in Quicken or Money on their home PCs or have credit card or other account information stored elsewhere on their PCs. How many may have userids and passwords for banking sites stored by their browser?

And for neighbors or others being interested in your personal information. I've had several individuals reveal to me how they sometimes use their scanners to listen to phone conversations. One person related to me how he's overheard a couple having an affair arranging a tryst and others discussing drug usage. And another person told me about how he overheard a neighbor discussing her husband's suicide. But why worry about the security of a conversation conducted over a cordless phone?

Someone else also related to me overhearing the conversation of neighbors in their baby's bedroom where they apparently have a wireless baby monitor.

I think many people using wireless devices, whether they be routers, cordless phones, or baby monitors have no idea how easy it is for someone in their neighborhood to use their Internet connection or listen in on private discussions.

There have been court cases regarding individuals taking advantage of a neighbor's unsecured wireless LAN and I wonder how many people who might have personal information stolen by someone accessing their computer over an unsecured wireless LAN would have any clue that is how someone got it.

Posted by: slartibartfast_z   Posted on: 03/25/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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