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Best Wireless SSIDs You Have Seen?
Ant writes "Best SSIDs you have seen is the name of the new Broadband Reports' wireless security forum.
Funny ones listed that made me chuckle: WardriversOpenAP,
GET LOST,
HackedAP,
SecureAP (no WEP/WPA), TOP_SECRET, HPD-FieldOffice,
MiddleEarth, HoneyPot, mine, and people's full/last name." I think naming your network 'Default' or 'Linksys' should be a crime ;)
N/T
Wow, a "story" on a slashdot forum about a lame "what's the best post" on another forum.
Too bad I can't mod the entire story as -1 LAME.
My WAP is connected to an 'untrusted' interface on my firewall, such that users can access the web and DNS only. The SSID is, with "addr" replaced with my street address, "come_4_beer_at_addr". Haven't had any takers, yet. :)
What's the matter with Default if you change the default password and enable encryption?
I meta-mod all positive moderation Unfair, because it's abuse of the system.
Mine's called "Default"... and has no password.
;)
Oh, wait... it's not mine, it's my neighbor's. That's why I don't need to pay for broadband service
lorem ipsum, dolor sit amet
Why is that so funny?
It lets people know where to contact the admin. Could be useful if nearby AP operators wanted to link, or perhaps discuss the channel configuration in order to avoid interference.
The address isn't exactly top secret information, surely anyone near the area could easilly figure out what house the wireless signal is strongest near?
WEP is secure enough imho, and anyway, it's all my router supports and I'm not going to fork out for a new one just yet. In the meantime I change the keys weekly. Sure a MAC address can be cloned, but it's not exactly something that your average script kiddie is going to do. Hell, if someone really wanted to see what I was up to they could just tempest my CRT. It's about an apropriate level of security, and for me, MAC filtering, not broadcasting my SSID, and changing my WEP keys is enough.
Although lots of people are bashing it, I think default is actually quite a good name (assuming that the router isn't still in its completely default config!) Linksys is not so good as it gives away the manufacturer and allows an attacker to target the attacks. I do however think that default is a lot better than people using house or family names, as that identifies where the AP is. Even using mordor or middleearth or similar can give away your interests, and thus possibly who you are to someone who knows your street well... default is nice and unassuming.
If I had an AP in my hose, why would I care if someone knew my address? Are terrorists out there searching the globe for the locations of $60 wireless routers? Besides, they can just wander around and mark where the signal boundaries are and my house would be at the center of the circle. Its broadcasting, so its not going to be very secret.
Turning off the SSID is a great step towards keeping the wardrivers away, but if you have a neighbor that wants to get on that network, it won't stop them. The SSID, unfortunately, is still broadcast in the association frames even if beacon frames are disabled. A dedicated attacker is going to get in, so best use something other then just WEP with MAC filtering and beacon frames disabled.
Umm....let's see how hard it is to figure out who is running an AP.
Step 1. Get laptop or $20 Wifi strength meter.
Step 2. Walk around.
Step 3. Use publicly available sources to find out who lives there
And if you really think someone gives a shit if you like LOTR, I think you need a bigger tinfoil hat buddy.
Linksys is not so good as it gives away the manufacturer and allows an attacker to target the attacks.
It gives away a manufacturer; not the manufacturer. My 'Linksys' might be running on an Airport.
In the process committing a serious crime.
You don't have the right to decide how other people should manage their network. The fault here lies with the manufacturers for providing systems that require too much effort to secure.
Terrorising people into behaving in the way you think they should is despicable. Who made you King?
Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
Which is exactly the sort of arrogant geek centric approach that has led to bad security.
The access points could have been designed to be secure without anyone ever needing to RTFM. Print the serial number of the device on the case of the box, use it as the default password.
Same thing goes for these idiotic WEP keys which I keep having to type into one machine after another. Build the system so that I don't keep having to enter long strings of digits into each new machine I buy.
Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
The real question is why you feel the need to "help your neighbors"? What's the point?
It's not your job and they didn't ask you to. An open AP is not hurting anyone.
If you have an innate need to contribute to society, pick up trash by the side of the road... visit old folks in a retirement home... give blood... contribute to a SourceForge project.
But don't hack your neighbors to "teach them a lesson".
Agile Artisans
2 words: plausable deniability!
Feel free to download all the bomb making material and kiddie porn you want while simultaneously running bittorrent, LimeWire, and Kazaa at the same time. You can always say "It was someone on my open access point, not me!", but you better have a well-encrypted drive.
-- Give me ambiguity or give me something else!
Who made you King?
Linksys did. Dude, read the post you're replying to, ok?
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
And then explain to the judge that "yes, your honor, this drive is encrypted to the point the NSA can't break in, but no, I'm too stupid to enable WEP, and no, I just can't remember the pass-phrase for the drive".
- Andreas
Wow, there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with you...
Hope your sperm count is low.
I don't see how it is a problem to use a street address as an SSID. If somebody wants to figure out what house the AP is in, all it takes is a Pringles can (or less) and a couple dollars in parts. They can then look at the numbers on the front of the house, and they have the exact same information as before. I know what house every AP in my neighborhood belongs to, without even using directional antennas. I have spoken with their owners (was helping resolve interference problems in the neighborhood) and confirmed my guesses. If you don't want anyone finding out what house has the wireless AP, you probably shouldn't use wireless equipment in that house.
Using the address, or a phone number, or even both as I do, makes it very easy to get in contact with the owner should the need arise. If an AP is malfunctioning or misconfigured and is causing interference, the owner should be contacted and informed.
The other reason I have my phone number in mine is because if someone else wants to use it, they can. I don't want Johnny Scriptkiddy driving through and screwing with it. But if a neighbor has a guest staying who wants to use my wireless, that is fine. Long and short of it, if someone has the decency to call and ask permission, I will give them my WPA key. My AP is on a separate subnet and requires VPN to access my wired network, so I don't mind giving local people access. Without VPN, all they can do is browse the web and check e-mail.
No matter how you look at it, using wireless has some risks to it. The best way the average home user can protect themselves is to enable WEP (or WPA if available) and lock down the MAC addresses. Using an accurate and descriptive SSID is not a risk, and can actually be very helpfull. Turning off SSID broadcast does absolutely no good and can cause additional problems.
Advanced users and corporate users obviously have more options available to them, but out-of-the-box configuration options are adequate for home users as long as they configure them.
Jeremy
The mac address give away the manufacturer as well, and that can't be changed.