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New Improvements On the Attacks On WPA/TKIP

olahau writes "Two weeks ago, improvements to the previously reported attack on WPA/TKIP, were presented at the NorSec Conference in Oslo, Norway. In their paper coined 'An Improved Attack on TKIP,' Finn Michael Halvorsen and Olav Haugen describe the improvements, which enable an attacker to inject larger, maliciously crafted packets into a WPA/TKIP protected network, thus opening the probabilities for new and more sophisticated attacks against the well-established wireless security protocol."

166 comments

  1. AM or FM? by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 5, Funny

    New Improvements On the Attacks On WPA/TKIP

    ... in Cincinatti!!

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    1. Re:AM or FM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do these attacks involve turkeys?

    2. Re:AM or FM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Do you like tkips?

    3. Re:AM or FM? by natehoy · · Score: 4, Funny

      "As God is my witness, I thought packets could fly!"

      --
      "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
    4. Re:AM or FM? by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      I wonder if somebody drove around looking for unpatched routers if they'd call it Turkey Bombing.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    5. Re:AM or FM? by clang_jangle · · Score: 2, Funny

      Do you like tkips?

      OMG I fucking *love* tkips!

      --
      Caveat Utilitor
    6. Re:AM or FM? by Mikkeles · · Score: 2, Informative
      --
      Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
    7. Re:AM or FM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WKRP

      NOW GET OFF MY LAWN!

  2. Re:Year of the Linux desktop is upon us! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Disgruntled goats, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard.

    At no point in your rambling, incoherent post were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought.

    Everyone on this site is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

  3. Does that mean... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    WEP is better? Has it always been better? I used WEP for the longest time until I figured I could set my own (short & easy) password with WPA.
    Should I switch back? Not that I expect my neighbours to be leet hackers...

    But one time not too long ago I logged into my one of my neighbours unsecured network (no idea who owned it) and noticed they had a printer on the network. So I downloaded the drivers off of HP and then sent a message to their printer telling them they should secure their wireless, and a website to show them how.

    Now to you or I, this would seem like a noble act in educating people on good security measures, but everyone else (meaning not computer people) thought that this was an outright invasion of privacy and advised me "Never to attempt that kind of stunt again" (not that I'll listen to them).

    Anyways, ever since then I've had this itching feeling that someones going to break into my wireless and show me whats what in a sort of karmic irony.

    1. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      WEP is not better. Don't use WEP.

      WPA2+AES is better.

    2. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      WEP is better? Has it always been better?

      Sure, keep using WEP. 128-bit WEP takes a very long time to break. Somewhere on the order of 15-30 minutes, in my experience.

    3. Re:Does that mean... by Random2 · · Score: 2, Informative

      WEP has always been less secure than WPA, especially because you can just brute-force a WEP password.

      Stick with WPA2 and you'll be alright for a while.

      --
      "Our goal each year should be to increase the number of goals we set for ourselves!"
    4. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyways, ever since then I've had this itching feeling that someones going to break into my wireless and show me whats what in a sort of karmic irony.

      They certainly will if you move back to WEP. WEP isn't just "under attack," it's very, very broken. If you're lucky, WEP makes an attacker wait 15 minutes more than they would have on an unsecured network.

    5. Re:Does that mean... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      WEP is not better. Don't use WEP.

      WPA2+AES is better.

      -

      WEP takes a very long time to break. Somewhere on the order of 15-30 minutes

      -

      WEP has always been less secure than WPA

      Well thats reassuring. You learn something new everyday.

    6. Re:Does that mean... by natehoy · · Score: 5, Informative

      no. Actually, let me rephrase that... "NO!!!!!!"

      WEP has been broken. Terribly, horribly, and completely broken. Not only are attacks possible, they are out there, and they are the data-intercept type. It's somewhat more secure than running Open and hiding your SSID, but not a lot more.

      WPA/TKIP has a vulnerability that malformed packets may be inserted in to the data stream. This opens the door for possible attacks. That does not mean attacks are currently possible, nor does it necessarily mean that data-intercept attacks will be possible near-term. You are "nearly safe" running WPA/TKIP. WPA/TKIP uses the same encryption methodologies as WPA but encrypts more data and is a lot harder to break.

      WPA/AES has, to my knowledge, no presently-known attack vector vulnerabilities. That can (and probably will) change.

      But if your gear is capable of WPA/AES, switch to that. If not, leave it as WPA/TKIP.

      And for the love of Pete, switch to a longer password with some nice scrunchy numbers, letters (upper and lower) and a few special characters. 10 total characters should do it if you use the prefix of some phrase and replace a few letters with special characters.

      Example: The Lord of the Rings is the Greatest Series Ever Written

      TLotRitGSER This is actually a decent-security password, you've got decent length, 11 characters, and some upper/lower goodness.

      Now add the concepts that it was originally actually one book, (&1b), and not about the 7 dwarves (!7d) to the end. TLotRitGSER&1b!7d

      Seriously secure password, and you're going to remember the hell out of it. Of course, it helps if you use something memorable to you.

      Then you'll never go around saying "Amazing! That's the exact same combination I have on my luggage!"

      --
      "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
    7. Re:Does that mean... by tolomea · · Score: 1

      WEP - old very broken WPA with TKIP encryption (aka WPAv1) - aging and showing it WPA with AES encryption (aka WPAv2) - best currently available

    8. Re:Does that mean... by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Secure passwords demand nonstandard characters.
      Bring up the charmap or memorize your alt codes

      dumb slascode filtering out my bells and spanish upside exclamation marks and such!

    9. Re:Does that mean... by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 2, Informative

      If I recall correctly, WPA/TKIP was an "interim" solution intended to be more secure than WEP but compatible with most WEP hardware. As such it had to leverage some of the low-level components of WEP, of which TKIP was one of them.

      So effectively, WPA/TKIP has vulnerabilities because it inherited them from WEP.

      WPA2/AES eliminates all "WEP heritage cruft".

      --
      retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
    10. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So nice to see that someone else uses this method.

      Another method i use for passwords is a sentence with a number sequence as the spacers.
      I1Am2A3Fruitcake as a simple example.

    11. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I was in college and the residential network was very new, I was snooping around and I found an unsecured c: drive shared. So I left a very sternly worded text file on his desktop telling him what he had better do to secure his system. A couple of days later I read in the campus newspaper about how someone had experienced a hacker leaving a harassing and malicious message on his computer, and reminding everyone that if such hacking was caught it would be bad news for him.

    12. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      64-bit keys are NOT trivially brute-forceable. Even if you've got a botnet of decent computers, you're probably still looking at weeks. The attacks on WEP, real attacks on severe flaws, typically take about five minutes to produce the key.

    13. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I recently broke a WEP protected network. It was rather easy.
      Stick with WPA

    14. Re:Does that mean... by Brianwa · · Score: 1

      You found someone kind enough to share their internet connection, so you wasted their ink and paper. Nice.

    15. Re:Does that mean... by natehoy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes, you're absolutely correct. However, the question was "now that WPA/TKIP is broken, is WEP more secure than it?"

      WPA/TKIP has vulnerabilities inherited from WEP, yes, but those vulnerabilities are still hidden behind a layer that, for now, is still protective. Trouble is, people are starting to discover larger and larger vectors for inserting attacks.

      The shields are still holding - I haven't heard of a successful data breach or DNS spoof on a WPA/TKIP (someone correct me if there is an actual working breach out there), and there are measures that can be taken (turn off QoS/WMM, update your client stack) that will close the holes.

      But only FOR NOW. Upgrading to AES is the correct answer.

      Downgrading to WEP is not the correct answer, unless the question is "What security protocol is the easiest to break?"

      --
      "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
    16. Re:Does that mean... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      The cost of a single piece of paper and the amount of ink I would have used is trivial to me being able to deny them internet access. They had it completely open, broadcasted the SSID, and left the router with the default username and password. I could have locked them out from their own internet if I had wished it. Sure, they could press the button on the bottom to restore factory defaults, but then I could do it over and over again. Or, if I were in the business of stealing personal information, I would have had very little standing in the way.

      If they wanted to share, they should have at least locked down access to the rest of their network (PC, Printer, Router/Gateway).

      If you leave your car unlocked and someone uses your pen and post its to tell you to lock your car, are you going to be pissed?

    17. Re:Does that mean... by RedLeg · · Score: 5, Informative

      Did you even read the paper or take the time to understand the attack?

      I'm one of the authors of IEEE 802.11i. I did, and it's not good.

      This is a significant advance in attack technique on TKIP. Get off of TKIP as quickly as you can. NOW.

      On one hand, as the paper's authors point out, we got seven years of life out of a band-aid fix that was designed to buy us five. I'm pretty happy with that.

      On the other hand, the Beck and Tews attack opened some cracks in the walls, this latest paper wedges that crack further open by a factor of 14, and provides some practical real-world exploit scenarios. The bad guys will come up with more, trust me.

      This is bad.

      Migrate off of TKIP NOW.

      Your advice for the length of a passphrase is off as well, BTW. IEEE 802.11i CLEARLY states that a passphrase of less that 20 characters in length does not offer adequate security.

      Use a strategy to choose a LONG, STRONG passphrase. Type it into notepad. Cut and paste it wherever it needs to go to eliminate typo errors.

      Cheers.....

      Red

    18. Re:Does that mean... by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

      I did something similar once. It was in college, and someone had brought the family computer to school, complete with r/w shared C drive. I left a shortcut in their startup folder to run notepad c:\warning.txt, telling them the problem, and either fix it themselves, or to find a geek to fix it for them. I met that person later....she was actually pretty hot. Nothing came of it though =/

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    19. Re:Does that mean... by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

      I was staying at my aunt's house one time, and she didn't know how the wireless worked. She was a little annoyed that I was able to break into her connection in under 10 minutes though.

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    20. Re:Does that mean... by zonky · · Score: 1

      If there is an effective attack on TKIP, will that also affect WPA2 w/ TKIP as well?

    21. Re:Does that mean... by jhfry · · Score: 2, Insightful

      When I set up a wifi router for someone I always simply generate a random string of letters numbers and special characters then I write it down and stick it to the router.

      I figure that you can't get more secure and its not exactly something they need to remember because they type it every day.

      --
      Sometimes the best solution is to stop wasting time looking for an easy solution.
    22. Re:Does that mean... by mrcaseyj · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Example: The Lord of the Rings is the Greatest Series Ever Written

      TLotRitGSER This is actually a decent-security password, you've got decent length, 11 characters, and some upper/lower goodness.

      I'd suggest just using the whole sentence. It would have at least as much entropy and would be more resistant to simple brute force breakage.

      And I'm considering giving up on upper case in passwords. The lower case alphabet requires about 5 bits to encode, while adding uppercase only requires one more bit. I suspect that just making the password 25% longer would be about as easy to remember, and a lot faster to type.

    23. Re:Does that mean... by CompMD · · Score: 1

      "you've got decent length, and some upper/lower goodness." ...that's what she said.

    24. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ya, those are GREAT fun to enter into the psk field on my mobile device.

      Which for some brain damaged reason is both obscured AND wont allow a paste.

      There's a bunch of reasons it's called wince.

    25. Re:Does that mean... by MadFarmAnimalz · · Score: 1
      Example: The Lord of the Rings is the Greatest Series Ever Written TLotRitGSER This is actually a decent-security password, you've got decent length, 11 characters, and some upper/lower goodness. Now add the concepts that it was originally actually one book, (&1b), and not about the 7 dwarves (!7d) to the end. TLotRitGSER&1b!7d Seriously secure password

      Except you actually got it wrong.

      and you're going to remember the hell out of it.

      Sure doesn't look like it. :)

      --
      Blearf. Blearf, I say.
    26. Re:Does that mean... by changa · · Score: 1

      Dude! TLotRitGSER&1b!7d is the combination I have on my luggage!

    27. Re:Does that mean... by HomelessInLaJolla · · Score: 0

      I have often mused that, if one had a low bandwidth trojan on someone's system, the most interesting memory to watch would be the copy and paste buffer.

      --
      the NPG electrode was replaced with carbon blac
    28. Re:Does that mean... by Korin43 · · Score: 2, Informative

      WEP has always been less secure than WPA, especially because you can just brute-force a WEP password.

      That's not the problem. You can brute force a WPA-TKIP password if you capture the handshake as someone connects, it just takes a really long time so it's not practical to do anything except a dictionary attack (and that would still take a loooong time). The problem with WEP is that you don't need to brute force the password, you can figure it out by collecting enough data packets. The only think slowing you down is the speed of the network. To give you an idea, I downloaded the example packets from aircrack-ng (basically simulating collecting enough packets from a WEP network), and my computer cracked the password in less than 15 seconds.

    29. Re:Does that mean... by vadim_t · · Score: 1

      Actually, it will have a LOT more entropy.

      Going by brute force, there are 98569 lines in my /usr/share/dict/words. Double that to account for that some words are capitalized.

      There are only 26 characters, double to account for uppercase.

      197138 ^ 11 is a much bigger number than 52 ^ 11. Of course it's also longer to type. But if brute force resistance is what you want it makes no sense to weaken it.

    30. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perfect! That's a great password! I'm using that for everything!

    31. Re:Does that mean... by shentino · · Score: 1

      I would if they left the post-it where a would-be thief could read it, be informed the car was unlocked, and then rob me for real.

      They'd even be potentially aiding and abetting in this case.

      I would appreciate the post-it PROVIDED it was left somewhere only I could see it...after I get back in the car.

      Leaving a public message on their printer is like sticking a "kick me" note on someone's back.

    32. Re:Does that mean... by natehoy · · Score: 1

      Extra layer of security, or a typo? You decide. :)

      Good catch. LOL

      --
      "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
    33. Re:Does that mean... by cjb658 · · Score: 1

      WPA basically generates a new WEP key for each packet. It's a bit more complicated than that, obviously (there must be a pattern that the AP and client can follow).

      I've also found a tool that lets you run WPA cracks with CUDA or Stream for about a 20-50x speed increase.

    34. Re:Does that mean... by Jasonv · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And for the love of Pete, switch to a longer password with some nice scrunchy numbers, letters (upper and lower) and a few special characters. [..snip]..Seriously secure password, and you're going to remember the hell out of it. Of course, it helps if you use something memorable to you.

      Then you'll never go around saying "Amazing! That's the exact same combination I have on my luggage!"

      I have my router set up without a password, and the SSID set to "Bring beer to Apt. 243".

      Since then, I've had the pleasure of meeting a few of my neighbors and drinking beer with them.

    35. Re:Does that mean... by Prune · · Score: 1

      SSID hiding is NOT security.

      --
      "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
    36. Re:Does that mean... by Prune · · Score: 1

      This password seems too short. For AES256 much longer passwords are recommended by security-specific programs; for example, Truecrypt complains if the password has anything less than 20 characters.

      --
      "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
    37. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some router firmwares (ex. Tomato) actually have a "Random" button for just that. It is also what the SES button on newer Linksys routers does.

    38. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haha!! I hacked ur /. account and am posting under ur name!! Sucka!!

    39. Re:Does that mean... by owlstead · · Score: 1

      20 characters? That's an entropy of 244 bits if it is completely random (using /only/ upper- and lower case characters). That's a bit much for a complex password like the one mentioned. If the password consists of much easier to guess characters, than 20 characters is probably on the low side. I can understand such a recommendation from some point of view (we'll at least let them choose a long passphrase), but I think it is a bit over the top for well chosen passwords...

      And I would recommend to write down the password and put it in a drawer. Chances are that you only need to type it in after your system went fubar, and if that happens, you may have lost your password. Drawers are also very difficult to hack from the internet.

    40. Re:Does that mean... by ChatHuant · · Score: 1

      Secure passwords demand nonstandard characters.

      Bring up the charmap or memorize your alt codes

      That's actually a misconception. It is fairly widespread, but it's a misconception nevertheless. Secure passwords don't "demand" nonstandard characters at all, and I'm pretty annoyed sometimes at web sites that require one to go through all kinds of contortions to get an acceptable password (lower case and upper case, symbols, numbers and a partridge in a pear tree). They only show that the web designer doesn't understand security.

      Let me explain:

      A strong password is one that can not be easily guessed or cracked. That means some things like your dog's name, or your birthday should not be used. This information is available in all kinds of places, and an attacker can get it and try it. Dictionary attacks against passwords use huge lists of words (dictionaries), trying all of them until the attack succeeds. That means it's not a good idea to use a real word ("Swordfish"). Modern dictionary attack software also tries varieties of "leet" spelling ("Sw0rdf!sh"), so that's not a good password either (even though it does use upper/lower case, numbers and symbols).

      The important thing to understand though, is that any such attack is basically a search through the total password space (the password space being the total number of combinations possible with the given symbol set. For example, if your password length is 5, and you can use only lowercase letters, the password space is composed of the combinations from 'aaaaa' through 'zzzzz'). In order to defend against an attack you need to make the search as difficult as possible. That means two thigs: first, the password space must be large (otherwise the attacker can simply do an exhaustive search through all possible combinations until he finds the right one). Second, the password's position in the password space must be as random as possible. The more a priori information your attacker has about your password, the easier his work is. For example, people aren't very good at generating random passwords, and that's why dictionary attacks work: the attacker only needs to search through the small subset of "real words" of this password space, using the fact that many people will use existing words (maybe with a few fairly predictable changes). If the password is truly random, the attacker will have to do a brute force search through your password space, which is usually impractical.

      To return to the initial misconception: the requirement to use nonstandard characters is an attempt to increase the number of random bits in the password, given the user's tendency to pick short passwords. It is not the only one; another way is to make the password longer. It's fairly trivial to compute where a longer password composed only of say lower case characters becomes as strong as a given (shorter) password that uses a larger symbol set (see here for details). Note that forcing users to use nonstandard characters may make your password less secure, because it reduces your password space: an attacker doesn't need to try any non-conforming password, so his work is simplified.

    41. Re:Does that mean... by billcopc · · Score: 1

      Only if the printer is in a public place. Chances are, if you're in an apartment building, that printer is in the victim's apartment, where only they can see it.

      Or do you have a disturbing habit of parking your printer outside overnight ?

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    42. Re:Does that mean... by QuestionsNotAnswers · · Score: 1

      Now to you or I, this would seem like a noble act in educating people on good security measure

      You are advocating walking into a woman's house while she is gardening out the back, and leaving a note in her knicker drawer explaining why her knickers are insecure.

      There is a social norm of not invading privacy, even when it is possible to do so.

      --
      Happy moony
    43. Re:Does that mean... by shaitand · · Score: 1

      People lose perspective in computer security. Big time.

      "And I would recommend to write down the password and put it in a drawer. Chances are that you only need to type it in after your system went fubar, and if that happens, you may have lost your password. Drawers are also very difficult to hack from the internet."

      and yet, they are ever so easy to hack from inside the room.

      You are dramatically more secure using a dictionary word password of less than ten characters, without mixed case, numbers or special characters than using a long and complex password that you have to write down somewhere to remember.

      The people who are most likely to try to break into your internet are people you know and especially people you live and/or work with.

      As a security professional you may encounter people being attacked by wardrivers and dictionary attacks all the time but as an individual you are probably more likely to be struck by lightning than have someone more sophisticated than your average random idiot looking for an open wifi link to check his email try to get in.

      As a freelance network technician I've encountered ONE count them, ONE server running any operating system that has actually been deliberately hacked in ten years on the job. Despite having proof on the box my co-workers were skeptical because despite each having between 20 and 40 years of experience administering small business systems none of them had ever seen a hacked box.

      That of course doesn't count worms, spyware, virus, and other automated attacks; open relays; or the kids/underling employees figuring out how to get around the proxy server.

    44. Re:Does that mean... by shaitand · · Score: 1

      As I said here:

      http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1423971&cid=29919403

      The most likely people to try to break into the router are people who have physical access and little technical knowledge. Like kids and employees.

      The second most likely group is random people who are close by and want to mooch some free internet but they on average are less tech savy than your kids and any form of security will keep them out.

    45. Re:Does that mean... by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 2, Informative

      The evil people you are so concerned about protecting these people from are fucking pricks like you. Abusing their network because you are afraid someone might abuse their network is so fucking hypocritical it's sickening. Not to mention someone who actually things WEP is more secure than WPA/TKIP (or secure at all) is a fucking dumbass and has no right lecturing others about security.

      tl;dr: You are a worthless piece of shit.

      --
      "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
    46. Re:Does that mean... by shaitand · · Score: 1

      It isn't even a good practice. In my experience few card/router combinations are able to connect reliably when the SSID isn't broadcast.

    47. Re:Does that mean... by natehoy · · Score: 1

      I'd set up a password and have the SSID set to "Beer to Apt 243 means free WiFi". Then change the password every few days. ;)

      --
      "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
    48. Re:Does that mean... by natehoy · · Score: 1

      Right. Some people think it is. Some people also think MAC address filtering is. Both sets of people are wrong.

      --
      "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
    49. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Ah yes, the famous beer encryption algorithm. Get your attackers so drunk they won't even be able to read the plaintext.

    50. Re:Does that mean... by darkpixel2k · · Score: 1

      TLotRitGSER&1b!7d

      Seriously secure password, and you're going to remember the hell out of it. Of course, it helps if you use something memorable to you.

      Lame

      Every few weeks I do the following:

      aaron@hoth:~$ pwgen -cny
      Ui:jae5i She9tah) ki3Ou;p3 phah`Gh8 aiR&aeW2 Aif2ye%i Ae0ieT?i ieng0Ep~
      paa%qu6A ahCaa^l7 gai3Mai+ Egh\ee1u eg$eeM4l Joo4Oh[e Ve"o1Ain suX|ae3c
      Qua;c6Vo Ohng^iL5 Yie,m5Wu Ezee'sh7 eek]aiT1 Ahch*ei3 fe9AiT'i dae(M3ee
      ei2Wei^j uY$eiv2o Eip:ee6c Beiy*oo8 aRieg-u7 eeg#ae6O ik3Bu:o6 au8Pa[i4
      <snip />
      Us`e5Aed OhB@oa9A Theeng7 thee^D3u ANa/ng5o bo_Feo5m Cha#a0ee Aiv+aa3J
      aaron@hoth:~$

      Pick one or more of the passwords from the output, mash them together and paste them into gedit.

      Spend 3 minutes repeatedly retyping the password into gedit.
      Lock your screen, go to bed, and the next morning retype the password for another three minutes.
      Change your password.


      When you do this every few weeks, replace a different password group. For example:
      Week 1 - Change root password on all home machines
      Week 2 - Change root password on all machines for client x
      Week 3 - Change eBay and bank password
      Week 4 - Change 'throwaway' password for sites like slashdot, mailman mailing lists (Why the f*ck are these sent in plain text every month. Dumbass admins.)
      Week 5 - If you haven't gotten the point by now, providing a week 5 example is useless.
      etc...

      --
      There's no place like ::1 (I've completed my transition to IPv6)
    51. Re:Does that mean... by mlts · · Score: 1

      Even better, either use a utility like KeePass or roll dice and use Diceware's password generation to make a 64 bit passphrase. Essentially, you really don't need to remember it like you do your router password. Then save the passphrase to a USB flash drive. After pasting it into your router, take the USB flash drive from wireless box to wireless box, copy and paste it in their configs, then either encrypt the usb flash drive key file, or merely store it in a secure place.

      This way, an attacker isn't dealing with a 10 character passphrase (might be tough), nor a 20 character passphrase (virtually uncrackable), but more than the 256 bits used in AES. With using a passphrase that has upper/lower case, numbers, and symbols, and all 63 characters (the maximum length passphrase in WPA2-AES), now the door is stronger than the wall.

      This is more of a matter of peace of mind, but it also doesn't hurt to change the AES key every so often. I like changing the WPA2 keys out every three to six months, or when I remove a machine from the network to be safe.

      Of course, the best security is having a RADIUS server that uses smart cards, and a WAP that can authenticate people from that. This way, for someone to get access, they would have to get physical possession of a cryptographic token, and either know the passphrase, or guess it before the token permanently blocks access.

      After you have your WPA2 key done right, you don't need to bother with hiding your SSID (doesn't protect against anything), and you can use an authorized MAC list if you want, but it really doesn't provide that much security.

    52. Re:Does that mean... by bdo19 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The people who are most likely to try to break into your internet are people you know and especially people you live and/or work with.

      This may be true, but these are NOT the people a WPA password is supposed to protect you from. If they have access to your drawer, and they intend to do your harm, your WPA password is the least of your worries. And, if they already have physical access, then they don't need your WPA password to "break into your internet" anyway.

      If we were talking about an online banking password that someone could steal from your drawer and use to empty your account, then I might agree with you (although the same idea applies, that there are probably much more dangerous things in that drawer already). But wireless network encryption is only capable of protecting against someone who doesn't already have physical access anyway. So how is it not a good choice to make that a secure password that's written down and filed away?

      Yes, people lose perspective in computer security.

    53. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WOW That was one crazy way to come up with a password that I for one would never remember. How about something like "Frod@LordOfTheRings.com" Thats 24 characters long instead of your 17 contains mixed case and non-word characters and is way easier to remember. You can use variations on different systems bilbo@ or gandalf@ and be able to remember them all.

    54. Re:Does that mean... by zippthorne · · Score: 1

      No, they just need more bits of entropy. You specify a password of any size character set and it's easy to figure out how many characters a password of equivalent strength would be using only lowercase characters.

      I'll even give you the formula:

      N_lowercase = N_full*log(C)/log(26)

      If C (the size of the character set) is bigger than N*log(N) (and it usually is. upper plus lower plus digits is already 62 characters. My longest password currently is only 17 characters.), then the benefit of increasing C by one is less than the benefit of increasing the length by one.

      Without delving into unicode, there just isn't any reason to learn alt codes when you could just add another letter or two. With delving into unicode, there isn't any functional difference between one 16 bit character and two 8 bit characters. Except that one might be easier to remember.

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    55. Re:Does that mean... by TheLink · · Score: 1

      But how do you know they are intentionally sharing their internet connection?
      And how do you know they aren't intentionally sharing their printer?

      Because people don't normally share their printer? If that's the case, then it's a good thing he told them right? I don't think he printed an entire book.

      --
    56. Re:Does that mean... by TheLink · · Score: 1

      Try to get some perspective here before calling people nasty names. He didn't change their wifi password or other stuff. He didn't change the password to their printer either ( I know someone who has done that).

      He just printed a note to them on the _shared_ printer. If they intentionally shared the printer then he has done nothing wrong. If they aren't intentionally sharing the printer, then sure from legalistic PoV he's done something wrong.

      But I personally think what he did was not harmful to others. On the other hand it is rather risky to him after all he could get into big trouble for that given the state of "computer misuse laws" and the lack of understanding of IT stuff amongst the general public and cops. "Oh noes, the evil neighbour hacked my printer! Call the cops!".

      Judging from the posts, he's a lot more polite than you are, even if he really is a "worthless piece of shit".

      --
    57. Re:Does that mean... by shaitand · · Score: 1

      "But wireless network encryption is only capable of protecting against someone who doesn't already have physical access anyway."

      Your son/daughter/roommate is far more than likely to be trying to get into your wifi than any sort of thief and physical access doesn't help the layman one bit.

      Even if they were technically capable to take advantage of physical access (you do realize that an extremely small fraction of the population has that level of technical capability right?) that isn't going to do them much good unless they don't mind you knowing your network was tampered with.

      Wifi doesn't exist for corporate networks that need to prevent access to data. The bulk of wifi networks aren't protecting sensitive data at all, the protection is to prevent people from accessing your internet connection.

      Only here in geekland do we even consider obscure scenerios like actual thought out and sophisticated attacks.

    58. Re:Does that mean... by danieltdp · · Score: 1

      On the other hand, if he had printed out a goatse pic...

      --
      -- dnl
    59. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have the best wireless security. My network is completely unencrypted. There is only one road to my house and my nearest neighbours are 2 kilometres away. Anyone who is prepared to come here and hack into my network I am happy to oblige as they must be desperate.

    60. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That pass phrase is based on a lie my precious

    61. Re:Does that mean... by Proteus+Child · · Score: 1

      You got me curious, so I fired up my copy of ENT and ran those two strings through it to see exactly how much entropy is contained therein.

      'The Lord of the Rings is the Greatest Series Ever Written': 3.898965 bits of entropy per byte. Chi square distribution for 58 samples is 1238.79, and randomly would exceed this value less than 0.01 percent of the time (typo in the output corrected). Arithmetic mean value of the data bytes is 89.8448 (where 127.5 would be considered random). The Monte Carlo value for Pi is 4.0000000000 (error 27.32 percent). The serial correlation coefficient is -0.096773 (where being totally uncorrelated would equal 0.0).

      'TLotRitGSER': 3.251629 bits of entropy per byte. Chi square distribution for 12 samples is 329.33, and randomly would exceed this value less than 0.12 percent of the time (typo in the output corrected again). Arithmetic mean value of the data bytes is 83.7500 (where 127.5 would be considered random). The Monte Carlo value for Pi is 4.0000000000 (error 27.32 percent). The serial correlation coefficient is 0.109522 (where being totally uncorrelated would equal 0.0).

      So, if you're going by bits of entropy in the passphrase alone, go with the full sentence.

      --

      Proteus' Child

      Doko ni datte; hito wa, tsunagette iru.

    62. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...then everyone would have been laughing and congratulating him on a prank well done. Go figure.

    63. Re:Does that mean... by sexconker · · Score: 1

      It was a joke.
      I know people who actually do it, and it's ridiculous.

    64. Re:Does that mean... by Abstrackt · · Score: 1

      The cost of a single piece of paper and the amount of ink I would have used is trivial to me being able to deny them internet access. They had it completely open, broadcasted the SSID, and left the router with the default username and password. I could have locked them out from their own internet if I had wished it. Sure, they could press the button on the bottom to restore factory defaults, but then I could do it over and over again. Or, if I were in the business of stealing personal information, I would have had very little standing in the way.

      If they wanted to share, they should have at least locked down access to the rest of their network (PC, Printer, Router/Gateway).

      If you leave your car unlocked and someone uses your pen and post its to tell you to lock your car, are you going to be pissed?

      Yes, I would be pissed. Someone used my stuff without my permission.

      I compare what you did and your example to walking into someone's house and informing them their door was unlocked, then explaining the dangers and advising them on how to fix it (e.g. lock the door). But it's a good thing you're a nice person because you could have been a serial killer. Do you think people would thank you for that?

      You may have had the best intentions possible, and I'm sure you did, but what you did the digital equivalent of entering someone's unlocked house without their permission. Just because they're not adequately protecting themselves from the unlawful use of their network doesn't mean you get a free pass to use their network without permission, regardless of the reason.

      --
      They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
    65. Re:Does that mean... by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Wow, many people thought I was serious.
      It was a joke.

      I, too, know people who believe you have to do that.

    66. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are multiple methods of doing the same thing for WEP from what I've seen.

      In practice I've seen averages of about 2-5min depending on how many IVs are collected.
      Once they're collected you don't even need to be on the network to crack the key.

      Just disconnect find the file you saved them to then run aircrack.
      Its basically instant as soon as you run it; if you've gathered enough IVs.

      WPA on the other hand is more difficult. I've seen at least one method use a rainbow table, that is getting a little much for me to just want to access a wireless network for general surfing; then again who really does that for general surfing?

      Plus, the majority of people still run WEP. Its just handy if you want general surfing needs in a short time frame.

    67. Re:Does that mean... by operagost · · Score: 1

      Don't forget to change the combination lock on the door to your mom's basement.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    68. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      -1 offtopic

    69. Re:Does that mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      bull. All you need to do is create a strong password that's not in your average dictionary. The hack is a dictionary hack, simple.

    70. Re:Does that mean... by Aphex+Junkie · · Score: 1

      If it takes you that long to break WEP, you're doing it wrong. Replay some packets to generate traffic and your IVs will reach ~20,000 within a couple of minutes. Then, the key cracking itself takes maybe 40 seconds.

    71. Re:Does that mean... by owlstead · · Score: 1

      "and yet, they are ever so easy to hack from inside the room."

      Yes, but I would not expect for instance your neighbour to have easy access to the drawer inside a room.

      "You are dramatically more secure using a dictionary word password of less than ten characters, without mixed case, numbers or special characters than using a long and complex password that you have to write down somewhere to remember."

      Are you nuts? These are passwords that can be cracked online! Anyone with access to the signal can happily try a dictionary attack!

      "The people who are most likely to try to break into your internet are people you know and especially people you live and/or work with."

      If you are afraid they get into your room or drawer, then you can use something like a lock (or your door, drawer or in my case, both) or a burglary alarm. As someone else noted, your internet connection is probably not the first thing they'll target if they have malicious intent.

      "As a security professional you may encounter people being attacked by wardrivers and dictionary attacks all the time but as an individual you are probably more likely to be struck by lightning than have someone more sophisticated than your average random idiot looking for an open wifi link to check his email try to get in."

      I don't know about that. Most people hacking into WiFi are likely people looking for an internet connection to abuse. Wardrivers and dictionary attacks are certainly not limited to specific systems.

      "As a freelance network technician I've encountered ONE count them, ONE server running any operating system that has actually been deliberately hacked in ten years on the job. Despite having proof on the box my co-workers were skeptical because despite each having between 20 and 40 years of experience administering small business systems none of them had ever seen a hacked box."

      And you are actively looking for WiFi connections that have been broken into? How? Are you looking at the authentication logs of the routers? Really?

      "That of course doesn't count worms, spyware, virus, and other automated attacks; open relays; or the kids/underling employees figuring out how to get around the proxy server."

      All of which defeat the security measures taken by the author that I was replying on. Putting things in a text file on the computer is infinitely less secure than putting it in a (locked) drawer.

      I'm afraid that you have lost the perspective yourself. Storing a password on a piece of paper put away somewhere in the house is infinitely more secure than putting it in plain on a computer, choosing a bad password, choosing the wrong protocol or letting your neighbours near your WiFi router, choosing the wrong brand of router (do you need more?).

    72. Re:Does that mean... by ZerdZerd · · Score: 1

      Why not just use a pass phrase? "The Lord of the Rings is the Worst Series Ever Written" is a perfectly good one!

      --
      I'm not insane! My mother had me tested.
    73. Re:Does that mean... by shaitand · · Score: 1

      "Wardrivers and dictionary attacks are certainly not limited to specific systems."

      And yet people with the knowledge and inclination to perform those attacks represent an extremely tiny segment of the population. Most IT professionals wouldn't know how to perform the attacks you are referring to.

      "choosing a bad password, choosing the wrong protocol or letting your neighbours near your WiFi router, choosing the wrong brand of router"

      The chance of your neighbors consistently being able to figure out why their desktop won't power up when the strip is turned off are slim let alone knowing what to do with access to your router or knowing what a router is. Hell in most cases your neighbor probably has a router and doesn't know what a router is.

  4. Does anyone know... by Lord+Ender · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why did they invent a (well, multiple) new encryption algorithm(s) for WiFi? Any competent security specialist will tell you that using an established encryption algorithm is always the wise choice. Did the people behind WiFi simply lack competence? Not Invented Here?

    --
    A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    1. Re:Does anyone know... by lukas84 · · Score: 1

      I think it was all about money. At the advent of Wireless networking, AES would've been expensive to implement.

    2. Re:Does anyone know... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, I agree! Everyone should have just stuck with WEP. Damn the consequences! The first product available is always the best there will ever be.

    3. Re:Does anyone know... by salahx · · Score: 5, Informative

      WEP is "Wired Equivalent Privacy". It wasn't supposed to be very strong - about a secure a regular wired network. However, it wasn't known back then just HOW weak it was. As a stopgap measure, WPA PSK (TKIP) was created. Since it uses the same algorithm as WEP, (RC4), existing equipment could be easily upgraded with just a firmware/software update. A long-term solution WPA2 PSK (AES) was created as well.

      WPA-PSK (TKIP) is still far, far better than WEP by many order of magintude, but WPA2-PSK is better, and if all you wireless devices support it (in particular the Nintendo DS DOES NOT, The DSi does, but not for DS games), then that preferred.

    4. Re:Does anyone know... by Lord+Ender · · Score: 1

      Uh... Mr. Coward, WEP and TKIP are both examples of (failing to) reinvent crypto.

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    5. Re:Does anyone know... by MobyDisk · · Score: 1

      They did it because the existing router hardware and wireless network card hardware was not capable of AES. It was a temporary solution that no one should be using any longer. WPA2 is the current established secure protocol, and it uses AES which is not a specialized algorithm.

    6. Re:Does anyone know... by tecker · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Well. This attack is used on the less robust TKIP protocol. AES is much stronger. Here is the break down (from my memory weakest to strongest):
      1. WEP
      2. WPA/TKIP
      3. WPA/AES
      4. WPA2/TKIP
      5. WPA2/AES

      WEP Came first. It was one of those "oh we need security" bits. It's about what you would have on a wired network. Yea, no, not really. Broadcast != Hardwire so that quickly began being broken. Collisions were found. Time for something stronger

      WPA came next but it was a bit advanced and all of these older machines didn't have really good processing in them and AES was a bit to intensive so the came up with WPA/TKIP. Lighter encryption but the old devices could pull it. WPA/AES came out around the same time and was stronger but the encryption had a bigger processing overhead.

      Then WPA2 (802.11i) came about with further layers and was what really should have been from the start. Backwards compatibility was a problem here and key to adoption. TKIP stayed as some machines didn't take AES very well. WPA2+AES was the real place most will tell you to be. The whole multiple things was just getting protection out there on a technology that was rapidly falling apart.

      Here is an analogy. US went to war with nearly unprotected Humvees (WEP). They worked well and they did their job. But attackers just blew right through it. So in an effort to get things locked down they welded plates of metal on the Humvee (WPA) some machines could handle more (AES) some less (TKIP). The military went back and developed a new technology similar to the quick field fix and came up with the Armored Humvee (WPA2) with good protection all around and made it standard (802.11i). Still defeatable but it can take a lot more.

      There. I'm sure it would have been easier to find a wikipedia article and link to that but I was bored.

      --
      Procrastinating life a way at a rapid rate of speed.
    7. Re:Does anyone know... by tecker · · Score: 1

      Yea knew I should have looked around. Here. Wikipedia on WPA will tell the story. Salahx and MobyDisk have it right. It was all stop-gapping. Which is why you have a sprawling landscape of security options.

      --
      Procrastinating life a way at a rapid rate of speed.
    8. Re:Does anyone know... by sexconker · · Score: 1

      I would swap the positions of 3 and 4.

    9. Re:Does anyone know... by afidel · · Score: 1

      802.11b predates AES by quite a few years.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    10. Re:Does anyone know... by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      WPA-PSK (TKIP) is still far, far better than WEP by many order of magintude, but WPA2-PSK is better, and if all you wireless devices support it (in particular the Nintendo DS DOES NOT, The DSi does, but not for DS games), then that preferred.

      Shame my Nintendo DS doesn't support it.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    11. Re:Does anyone know... by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      The US military went back and bought old tech from 1980's South Africa's used during bush wars.
      They did a MS and innovated :)
      As for WPA2/AES, my only thought is cat6/5 or optical your house if you want networking.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    12. Re:Does anyone know... by KlaymenDK · · Score: 1

      I think it was all about money. At the advent of Wireless networking, AES would've been expensive to implement.

      802.11b predates AES by quite a few years.

      Well, there you go, then. That would make it rather expensive.

      By the way, if anyone's interested in time travel, meet me at the mall last Thursday.

    13. Re:Does anyone know... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      802.11b predates AES by quite a few years.

      AES was first published in 1998. The 802.11b standard was published in October 1999.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    14. Re:Does anyone know... by dremspider · · Score: 1

      "Any competent security specialist will tell you that using an established encryption algorithm is always the wise choice." So, if we read carefully... One year is not a well established protocol. They just chose their own one.

    15. Re:Does anyone know... by afidel · · Score: 1

      Uh, On October 2, 2000, NIST announced[4] that Rijndael had been selected as the proposed AES and started the process of making it the official standard by publishing an announcement in the Federal Register what?

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    16. Re:Does anyone know... by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      Any competent security specialist will tell you that using an established encryption algorithm is always the wise choice. Did the people behind WiFi simply lack competence?

      Yeah, so route your wireless to the public Internet only and VPN into your corporate LAN. Software is easier to fix.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  5. Nothing to see, move along by sadler121 · · Score: 2, Informative

    This tells us nothing more than we knew before. Stop using WPA/TKIP and switch to WPA2/AES

    1. Re:Nothing to see, move along by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The first time that it was posted an attack on TKIP was even possible I switched everything to AES at work. I guess the big deal is IT admins who keep their heads in the sand and -dont- go for the (currently) unhackable technology.

    2. Re:Nothing to see, move along by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      WPA/AES is safe, too. My Wii doesn't seem to like my router's implementation of WPA2.

    3. Re:Nothing to see, move along by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      I have an older router that doesn't support WPA2/AES. TKIP is the best thing you can use. Guess I have to buy new hardware.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    4. Re:Nothing to see, move along by jpe30 · · Score: 1

      Check to see if you can use DD-WRT ( http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index ) with your router. This way you don't need to buy entirely new hardware! :)

    5. Re:Nothing to see, move along by DittoBox · · Score: 1

      You may wish to check for some replacement firmware from DD-WRT before buying new hardware. I've used DD-WRT for years and love it!

      http://dd-wrt.com/site/index

      --
      Good. Cheap. Fast. Pick Two.
    6. Re:Nothing to see, move along by glarbl_blarbl · · Score: 2, Interesting

      DD-WRT is sweet, I've been using it for a couple of years now. The best feature for me is WDS (a distributed wireless network, I use it to wirelessly bridge my house and recording studio about 75m away). Unfortunately, I found a barely-documented bug which prevents WDS from operating with WPA2-PSK/AES encryption. It tends to lose the connection and not regain it until you stand on one foot and unplug both routers while whistling "God Save the Queen". Apparently the answer is to use TKIP, so now I'm using WPA2-PSK/TKIP. I'm thinking I'll move to RADIUS eventually, once I buy a Snow Leopard Server license ;)

      --
      I use friend/foe to signal strong [dis]agreement instead of mod points. What else are f/f good for?
    7. Re:Nothing to see, move along by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      The first time that it was posted an attack on TKIP was even possible I switched everything to AES at work. I guess the big deal is IT admins who keep their heads in the sand and -dont- go for the (currently) unhackable technology.

      Would have made more sense to me if you had used ipsec.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    8. Re:Nothing to see, move along by shaitand · · Score: 1

      Couldn't you just configure one to operate as a repeater or repeater bridge?

    9. Re:Nothing to see, move along by shaitand · · Score: 1

      Actually, according to the dd-wrt wiki you can use WDS with the TKIP+AES setting and then just configure your clients to use AES.

      http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Repeating_Mode_Comparisons

      Specifically:

      WDS can support WEP, WPA, and WPA2 Personal (TKIP+AES) as of v24sp1 (and earlier?). [tested with wrt150n1.1 AP + wrt54g6 R] (TODO: test other hardware). R/RB [repeater/repeater bridge] support all encryption algorithms.

    10. Re:Nothing to see, move along by glarbl_blarbl · · Score: 1

      Hmm, I'm having a hard time finding the forum thread which discusses it. All I know is that it has been stable since I switched to TKIP only. I'm running v24sp1.

      --
      I use friend/foe to signal strong [dis]agreement instead of mod points. What else are f/f good for?
    11. Re:Nothing to see, move along by Locomorto · · Score: 1

      Have you considered trying tomato? My understanding is that WDS is supposed to work much better in that.

      --
      Stopping Content Restriction Annulment and Protection means not calling it DRM.
    12. Re:Nothing to see, move along by glarbl_blarbl · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the idea! I'll give it a shot when I have time to flash both routers without bugging anybody.

      --
      I use friend/foe to signal strong [dis]agreement instead of mod points. What else are f/f good for?
  6. New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by Tumbleweed · · Score: 1

    News at 11!

    Wake me when someone's got something on WPA2.

    I think someone should post a story about bugs in zmodem.

    1. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by CannonballHead · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Please provide your definition "obsolete."

      Google provides disused: no longer in use; "obsolete words"

      WEP isn't even obsolete, let alone WPA. Many people still use "old" standards. Not everyone keeps up to date with the latest wireless security. Many have unsecured networks. Many use WEP just to keep off annoying neighbors. I don't know anyone that uses WPA2+AES at home. I take it back, I do know one person that does.

    2. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by Tumbleweed · · Score: 1

      WEP isn't even obsolete, let alone WPA. Many people still use "old" standards. Not everyone keeps up to date with the latest wireless security. Many have unsecured networks. Many use WEP just to keep off annoying neighbors. I don't know anyone that uses WPA2+AES at home. I take it back, I do know one person that does.

      WEP is obsolete and so is WPA. People still drive Model T cars - that doesn't mean they're not obsolete. Hell, lots of people still use *IE6*!

      I've been using WPA2+AES at home for quite some time. :)

    3. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      One of my routers is set up to support any combination of WPA, WPA2, TKIP and AES (the weaker ones for compatibility, the stronger ones because it supports them). The other one only supports WPA+TKIP but it works and thus won't be replaced unless WPA+TKIP security devolves quite a bit farther.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    4. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by CannonballHead · · Score: 1

      The Slashdot sample of wireless encryption users may be different than most samples, hehe...

      I don't think WEP nor WPA are obsolete. People still use it fairly regularly, if anything at all.

      They SHOULD be obsolete - I'll agree with that statement... :)

    5. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by Tumbleweed · · Score: 1

      The Slashdot sample of wireless encryption users may be different than most samples, hehe...

      I don't think WEP nor WPA are obsolete. People still use it fairly regularly, if anything at all.

      As I said, just because people are still using something, that doesn't mean it isn't obsolete. WEP & WPA *are* obsolete. Unfortunately, people are still using older hardware, as well as installing stuff without knowing how to configure it. IE6 is a good example - (VERY) obsolete technology, still in wide use.

      I think AP manufacturers should make it MORE difficult to use their equipment in unsecured or WEP/WPA mode than the other way around. I doubt most people really want to run an unsecured access point, though that's just a guess.

    6. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by fast+turtle · · Score: 1

      I use it and simply to keep neighbors off my budget connection. The big question is "Do I trust it?" and I have to resoundling answer "Hell NO!"

      --
      Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
    7. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by shaitand · · Score: 1

      The mere existence of superior technology does not make the older technology obsolete.

      Ultimately there is a critical mass of usage that must be achieved by the new technology to call it obsolete. For instance, cars are not obsolete despite the existence of rocket packs, leer jets, and flying cars.

      Without question the vast majority of wifi networks are NOT running WPA2/AES. I don't know how many 9's you need to throw in but its definitely less than one percent. I would be surprised if half the wifi networks out there could even run WPA2/AES without at least replacing hardware (and that isn't even counting the fact the no shortage of equipment rated for WPA2/AES doesn't actually reliably run in that mode).

      Nobody replaces their router/wireless nics just because there are a couple hundred or even a thousand people in the country with the tech savy and equipment to potentially mooch their wifi. Those who have the new equipment are just incidental to other upgrades.

      Even among those who have the hardware and would be willing they aren't willing to have wifi that won't work when their niece comes to visit with a two or three year old laptop.

    8. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by shaitand · · Score: 1

      "I use it and simply to keep neighbors off my budget connection."

      That is what security pros ignore with their ridiculous security recommendations and stringent long and complicated passwords you have to write down.

      Aside from your neighbors the most likely person to try to hack your wifi is your 12 year old girl trying to sext when she should in bed. Neither of them is likely to be able to gain access without having to account for it if you use a simple password. The minute you have to stick something to the router though, baby girl is sending me jail bait titty shots.

    9. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think someone should post a story about bugs in zmodem.

      Would you settle for a writeup on how to break ROT13? My latest research shows that it's now possible to decode ROT13 in real time at gigabit speeds!

    10. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Security is different. Comparing security protocols to door locks may be a more apt analogy: A warded lock as your means of protection on your front door is obsolete, just as WEP is obsolete. A 5 pin tumbler lock is on the verge of being obsolete with bumping techniques widespread. An Abloy PROTEC on the front door is not obsolete, as there are no known attacks that can defeat the lock in a reasonable amount of time without resorting to another method (sacking someone who has the key, kicking the door down, etc.)

      Security does get obsolete, and dangerously so, because you don't know that something failed you until you are made aware of some type of breach.

    11. Re:New Improved Attacks on Obsolete Standards! by CannonballHead · · Score: 1

      I think your definition of obsolete is different from my definition. Obsolete means "unused." I guess it can mean out of date or not current, but I don't think mots people use it that way... hehe.

      I am guessing "most" people don't know what an "unsecured access point" is. I don't think most people really think about computer security, until they are compromised or someone talks to them about it...

  7. Just in time! by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The timing of this new attack could not have been better - the day after the UK government announces they want to introduce a "three strikes" rule before disconnecting suspected file-sharers.

    I imagine this must be a massive headache for ISPs who have been shipping routers with WPA/TKIP enabled for compatibility (i.e. a lot of them). Suddenly their routers need remotely updating and they have to hope that most of their customer's wifi drivers will cope with the move to AES.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    1. Re:Just in time! by John+Hasler · · Score: 1

      > Suddenly their routers need remotely updating...

      Why would they see a need for updating? It certainly won't come from customer demand.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
    2. Re:Just in time! by natehoy · · Score: 2, Informative

      Alternatively, they could simply turn off QoS/WMM and buy a little more time, since that is (currently) a requirement for this specific attack vector, according to the submitted paper.

      There are also fixes available to TKIP that could extend its life a little longer.

      But, yeah, it's time to go AES.

      Having said all that, I fear the backlash from people who have routers that are only capable of WEP and WPA/TKIP and decide WPA/TKIP is "less secure" because no one is talking about how insecure WEP is any more. Given a choice, WPA/TKIP is still the better selection of the two. As far as I know, no one has demonstrated or claimed the ability to actually compromise the datastream in WPA/TKIP, though I'm sure that's a matter of time.

      3 little pigs analogy:
      Open = living under the stars. Wolf eats you now.
      Opwn/hidden SSID = living under the stars with a wet paper towel as a shield. Wolf eats you in 2-3 seconds.
      WEP = straw house. Wolf eats you in 5 minutes.
      WPA/TKIP = wooden house with reinforcements. Wolf hasn't figured out how to eat you yet, but it's a matter of not much time before he does. Change or wolf will eat you soon.
      WPA2/AES = Sealed concrete bunker 100 feet underground. Wolf will figure out how to get into it eventually, but you're safe for a while.

      Nothing is ever permanently secured against the wolf. Eventually WPA2/AES will be broken and we'll be on to the Next Big Thing. But for now, I'd call WPA/TKIP "OK for home use, but start shopping for a router and new wireless gear, like, right now."

      --
      "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
    3. Re:Just in time! by phillips321 · · Score: 1

      WPA2/AES = Sealed concrete bunker 100 feet underground. Wolf will figure out how to get into it eventually, but you're safe for a while.

      If he doesn't figure out how to get in there soon your going to die anyway: Sealed means Sealed; no oxygen in, no nasty carbon dioxide out......

    4. Re:Just in time! by fireylord · · Score: 1

      surely you'd have time to get a fire or 2 going, not sure the wolf would come near then. . .

    5. Re:Just in time! by a-zarkon! · · Score: 1

      If you're *that* concerned, consider establishing and IPSEC tunnel across your WLAN. Yes, you will have additional headaches with this, more software, more configuration, and likely more hardware too. However IPSEC tunnel trumps all of the above in my opinion, and should hold up longer than WPA2/CCMP (aka WPA/AES). You could maybe use SSL VPN, but I'm a bit of a paranoid curmudgeon and I've got some concerns about the longterm security of many SSL VPN implementations. This is purely my opinion, offered freely on /. so use your best judgment.

      Additional thoughts to ponder on WiFi:
      1) All your packets belong to Bob, as Bob has a card in monitor mode and he can pluck them from the air and write them to a cap file. Bob can keep your packets until there is a hole identified with your security. He might even share them with people who are more clever than he is and better able to crack them.
      2) Your WiFi works because Bob doesn't feel like spending the time to DoS you right now. Bob isn't terribly 133t, but then he doesn't need 133tness to DoS you.
      3) If you're really doing something that must remain confidential - maybe you shouldn't be doing it over wireless in the first place.

    6. Re:Just in time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pretty much any layer of security you use is likely to use AES. If AES is broken, you are in trouble no matter how many layers of it you are using.

    7. Re:Just in time! by dkf · · Score: 1

      3) If you're really doing something that must remain confidential - maybe you shouldn't be doing it over wireless in the first place.

      Against most real threats, you should be thinking in terms of using SSL over the wire anyway because WPA/AES will not protect packets after they get past the wireless hub.

      --
      "Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
  8. Not quite correct by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 1

    They didn't use AES because AES didn't yet exist. (Or, to be specific, was very early on in the algorithm competition to determine which one would become the standard.)

    Rijndael was chosen as the AES winner by NIST in 2001. WEP was finalized in 1997.

    At that point, I believe DES was already known to have issues.

    --
    retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
  9. Short information about current Wireless Hacking by zukinux · · Score: 5, Informative

    In-order to hack WEP it's quite simple today, you need to do the following :
    1) Listen to packets going through (monitor mode)
    2) Force people to send more packets using arp-replay packets or specially crafted packets
    3) Capture about 25000 packets and make an crypto analysis [the more packets you capture, more chance you'll be able to decrypt the password] about this packets to get password


    In WPA1/2 it's quite different :
    1) Listen to packets going through in monitor mode
    2) Wait un-till you capture a connection-login handshake (it's 2 packets both ways = 4 packets)
    3) After you capture packets in 2, you need to do Dictionary attack on the captured session login. If that word isn't in your dictionary, you're screwed.

    That's why a current wireless hacking methods against a strong not-in-dictionary WPA(PSK) password will be quite hard (if possible) to hack these days.

    Just so we all be cleared.

  10. There still isn't a proper actual password crack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is there? I'm pretty sure you can't actually obtain the password like WEP, or am I wrong?
    Let me know asap, I'm low on my monthly quota for downloads! ...
    Oh Australia.... :(

  11. Antisocial by ratboy666 · · Score: 1

    I leave my wireless connection "unsecured". Sure, the neighbours use it, and people needing iPod Touch location services.

    I figure it's just good social behaviour. If I need network access when I'm "out and about", I will use someone else's wifi.

    Just don't be a 'leet hacker asshole.

    --
    Just another "Cubible(sic) Joe" 2 17 3061
    1. Re:Antisocial by cjb658 · · Score: 1

      Location based Wifi actually doesn't need to connect to an AP, it just looks its MAC address up in a database, such as this one.

      Even if you have WPA2/AES, your AP still broadcasts this information.

    2. Re:Antisocial by jroysdon · · Score: 1

      While that might seem nice, it's actually pretty stupid, on both parts (sharing, and using "shared" resources).

      Two points, first is that you're opening yourself up to having all your gear seized by the police when you leave things open. How/why? How 'bout your neighbor has an interest in child porn? How 'bout your neighbor uses your internet to send death threats to the President of the United States and guess what, the Secret Service will have your address from your ISP in no time and you'll probably have fun, again with your gear taken and sitting in jail until it all gets sorted. What if your neighbor shares movies/music non-stop and your ISP decides to cut you off? Most likely sharing your internet outside of your household violates their ToS.

      At the very least, you should require users to create accounts and use those and that you log access times (and perhaps dns queries or some proof of where they went). When I used to run an open AP, I did that with NoCatAuth (some form of that project is still around). Then should any of these things happen, you could at least have some "proof" that it wasn't you. Granted, your equipment is still seized while you fight this, or you're still offline until you promise to shutdown/limit your access.

      Ok, the second point is that, at least here in the US, you're actually committing theft of computer services and unauthorized access when you use someone's "shared" AP without permission. Yeah, I know it's really lame. Unless you have written proof somewhere (like on a sign at a college or in a hotel lobby), or at least connecting to an SSID labelled "somesite-public" so you can say it was open to the public, you're asking for it legally.

      A final thought of how stupid it is to use any old open AP is that you're ripe for a M-i-t-M attack and giving up all your account info. You can disagree all you want, all you have to do is look and see all the security issues that come up with this and how SSL really isn't a solution as it is constantly found to be broken.

      What I do to prevent such problems is to use a "Guest" firefox profile to login to the ToS or whatever a public place may have and "sign in" to their system if I have to auth somehow. Once that is up, iptables blocks all outbound traffic from my laptop except to my remote proxy server which I SSH to and forward all my traffic. No M-i-t-M attack is possible here since I already have my SSH server's public key stored and that server had my public key, and the only traffic they see is AES-256bit SSH. Nothing else can even leave/leek out of my box thanks to iptables blocking it (dns likes to leak from a lot of apps, and SOCKS proxying will not do DNS and always leak unless you use something like privoxy).

      Anyway, I just don't have time to deal with the police or my ISP should someone else do something stupid. I have "PRIVATE" in my SSID string (no excuses for unauthorized access) use WPA2/AES, have MAC address filtering, and only allow SSH access into my host server from my AP to my LAN. Again, I don't trust wireless, even at home. Should WPA2/AES found to be broken and someone spoofs my MAC address, they cannot get anywhere but to my hardened SSH host. A little bit of protection and security mindset goes a long way. This works in a corp setting as well, replacing SSH with VPNs (only allow access from the wireless to your VPN server/firewall, etc.).

    3. Re:Antisocial by gzipped_tar · · Score: 1

      Sharing is un-capitalistic thus evil. You'll be re-educated.

      --
      Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
    4. Re:Antisocial by danieltdp · · Score: 1

      You should leave your house's door open too, just in case someone gets thirsty or need to use the toilet..

      You ideas are pretty nice, but they are a little naive too.

      --
      -- dnl
  12. Re: WHY would you "secure" a WLAN? by xiando · · Score: 1

    But one time not too long ago I logged into my one of my neighbours unsecured network (no idea who owned it) and noticed they had a printer on the network. So I downloaded the drivers off of HP and then sent a message to their printer telling them they should secure their wireless, and a website to show them how.

    I run my WLAN open, or "unsecured", intentionally and encourage everyone to do the same. Your neighbors are good people who leave their network open, so why would you be rude and abuse their printer?

    The Internet DOES NOT MAGICALLY BECOME SECURE by using encryption on a local wireless network. No. If you are talking https then you have end-to-end encryption. If you are talking http then you do not. These are the facts regardless of you using encryption 10 feet between your laptop and your router.

    If you want real security then use end-to-end encryption. If you do that then it no longer matters if that end-to-end encrypted connection goes encrypted or unencrypted through the air locally. "Securing" wireless networks in pointless and rude. It provides no security beyond your local network and it makes it harder for those good folks next door or folks who happen to park their car within range who want to update their facebook status or something.

  13. Re: WHY would you "secure" a WLAN? by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

    Or those guys who just moved in, wanting to eat up your bandwidth downloading music and playing world of warcraft without paying for their own internet service?

    Thinking that you shouldn't secure a wireless network is ridiculous. Do you leave your door open and encourage people to use the washroom? Do you leave your keys in the ignition to encourage your neighbours to do their grocery runs with your car?

    If so, you are a very unique, not to mention naive character, who will only be taught once they get scammed.

    May sound cynical, but my motto is: Assume the worst of people you will never meet.

  14. Re:There still isn't a proper actual password crac by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're wrong.

  15. Re: WHY would you "secure" a WLAN? by cjb658 · · Score: 1

    SSL doesn't always mean secure either.

    See the third video here: http://www.defcon.org/#earlyVids

  16. Re:Short information about current Wireless Hackin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Small note of warning, not all routes like the arp-replay and crafted packets. Some low cost routers die from an arp 'flood', requiring a reboot.

  17. Re: WHY would you "secure" a WLAN? by jroysdon · · Score: 1

    If there were not evil people in the world and laws that will get you in hot water should that evil person use your network in a bad way, I'd agree. That's not the world we live in.

    Yes from your LAN to the internet is wide open, all email from your ISP to another ISP is in the open (GPG if you care), but for me that's not the point of securing my WLAN. It's securing who accesses my internet connection which is tied to me personally, and without physically being in my home/office, WLAN is the only way to do so, so that's why I secure it.

    I have a longer reply about this and the reasoning here:
    http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1423971&cid=29918555

  18. Re:There still isn't a proper actual password crac by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More information PLZ!

  19. Re: WHY would you "secure" a WLAN? by billcopc · · Score: 1

    Some of us believe the internet should be free to use for anyone and everyone. There's a big difference between a personal vehicle (which itself is horribly inefficient and vain, but that's for another post), and access to a global information network where the only cost is related to the "onramp".

    If someone drives off with your car, you no longer have use of your car. If someone checks their email over a small slice of your bandwidth, you're not being deprived of anything. All you really need to do is keep your internal network secure, and maybe put in some sane speed limits to deter abuse.

    Wouldn't it be nice if all WiFi routers came with these features built-in and easy to configure ? I'd be fine with allowing web and mail traffic, but not idiotic Limewire and the virulent teens who use it. If it means I can whip out my laptop anywhere in the city and feed trolls on slashdot, or knock off a few work items while I wait for the damned bus to show up, then I'm all for moderate, conscientious sharing. It won't kill you, it won't help the terrorists win (hint: they won a long time ago), it won't replace your corn flakes with paint chips, so why are you complaining so much ?

    I get that this is considered pinko/commie thinking, so all I can do is politely flip the bird and pray your so-called economy continues its freefall toward obsoletion.

    --
    -Billco, Fnarg.com
  20. Re: WHY would you "secure" a WLAN? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does this guy not get it?
    Linksys global network is your firend

  21. Not possible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WPA2 mandates the use of AES, so if you are running WPA2 you must already be using AES.

  22. You're one of the authors? by TheLink · · Score: 1

    Can we please have a way to have secure _anonymous_ WiFi access?

    Something like https/TLS? With https you don't need to give everyone passphrases or have them share the same passphrase. And the users can't decipher each other's traffic. Can we have something like that for WiFi please?

    Combine it with something like ssh method: "WARNING! The AP's public key fingerprint has changed!". Then that's good enough, make the CA stuff optional.

    Because, the CA system on browsers doesn't really improve security that much since there are tons of CAs bundled with browsers. And if one screws up and signs microsoft.com/somebank.com for the bad guy the browsers don't give a warning that the cert has changed, even if the original cert had years left before expiry. Whereas the SSH method will give you a warning.

    --
    1. Re:You're one of the authors? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Can we please have a way to have secure _anonymous_ WiFi access?

      You're solving the wrong problem. WiFi 'security' is single-hop security. It's for local networks. If you are using a WiFi hotspot to connect to a remote site then you have a few dozen network segments between you and the remote party that may or may not be trustworthy. If security is important, you should be using end-to-end encryption, not encryption for the first hop and then no security for the next twenty. This applies to DNS too. You should not be trusting DNS from a WiFi hotspot unless all of the servers in the chain support DNSSEC.

      The point of things like WPA is to let you use the wireless network in the same way that people have been using wired ones; publishing services that anyone with physical access to the network can use. If you can plug in a computer to the network socket, then you can access the shared printer, for example. If you have the WPA key, you can do the same. That's all that it's for, and even using it for that is trading some security for convenience.

      Oh, and most browsers let you permanently trust a self-signed certificate for a single site. That means that you will get the a notification when the certificate changes.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    2. Re:You're one of the authors? by TheLink · · Score: 1

      The problem is there is currently no way for Starbucks/Hyatt/etc to provide WiFi security to their customers/guests, so that:

      1) their customers can't see each other's traffic.
      2) their customers don't have to enter pesky WPA passwords.

      It's not important what the original point of WiFi security was, after all WiFi security was broken from scratch, so it's not like the WiFi designers were a good authority on what is good or best.

      Secondly, just because you can plug your network cable into a hotel room's network jack doesn't mean you can see traffic from other guests. In many Visitor Based Networks stuff like Cisco's "port security" is used on the switches.

      And nowadays very many WiFi networks are built specifically for visitors to use. So the problem I state is real, is common and there is no good solution at the moment.

      If I run one of those networks and want to provide a decent service to my guests I can't. I don't have to feel responsible for the privacy of a guest's traffic beyond my network, but within my network I might want to do my best. If a guest walks out of the hotel and to some mall and get mugged there, nobody usually blames the hotel. But if they get mugged in the hotel even if it's not the hotel's fault - it's not good for the hotel.

      Trying to get the "average user" to use end to end encryption for everything at Star Bucks is not a realistic answer to the problem - since not all the popular sites in the world support encryption. So that's way more ridiculous or "pie in the sky" than what I'm asking for. Go ahead try https://www.google.com/ you'll get redirected at best.

      > and most browsers let you permanently trust a self-signed certificate for a single site. That means that you will get the a notification when the certificate changes.

      That is why self-signed certs can actually be safer than CA signed certs when popular browsers have 20 to 40+ different CA certs installed. Which was my point. Hence I suggested "ssh style".

      --
  23. Re: WHY would you "secure" a WLAN? by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

    I would have nothing opposed to sharing internet access if I was not aware of the dangers imposed with it. The problem with insecure routers is that you leave yourself open to whims of anyone who can use it.

    You can leave it open, and share, and you'd be doing a good thing. You may never run across a bad guy in your life. Likewise, you can leave your car unlocked and no one will ever enter it.

    But I personally have never been in the scenario where I KNOW my neighbours nor have I ever been in a situation where I Had my laptop with me and I wanted to check my email, thus forcing me to use someone elses wifi or using Wifi without paying for it.

    If you can afford a Laptop nowadays, you can afford a decent phone, and you can use that for the internet.

    The potential cost for someone malicious on your network doesn't approach the social good of you leaving it open to everyone. If you want to share it with your neighbours, send them the key.

  24. LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hardwire - its the future...

  25. Re:Short information about current Wireless Hackin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "In 2006, Bittau, Handley, and Lackey showed[5] that the 802.11 protocol itself can be used against WEP to enable earlier attacks that were previously thought impractical. After eavesdropping a single packet, an attacker can rapidly bootstrap to be able to transmit arbitrary data. The eavesdropped packet can then be decrypted one byte at a time (by transmitting about 128 packets per byte to decrypt) to discover the local network IP addresses. Finally, if the 802.11 network is connected to the Internet, the attacker can use 802.11 fragmentation to replay eavesdropped packets while crafting a new IP header onto them. The access point can then be used to decrypt these packets and relay them on to a buddy on the Internet, allowing real-time decryption of WEP traffic within a minute of eavesdropping the first packet."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy#Flaws

    From what I read that means there is current attacks that could bypass WEP in one packet.

  26. Re: WHY would you "secure" a WLAN? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Call me cynical, but I am not as trusting as you are.

    First, people have been convicted (or found culpable) about activity done on IP addresses assigned to them. This by itself should get individuals to lock down their wireless routers.

    Second, with someone clued enough to spoof their MAC address, by leaving an open AP, it gives them an untraceable base to actively hack from, with the onus of the attacks hitting the AP owner's shoulders. Almost all ISP contracts say that it is the responsibility of the subscriber for any security issues. Let an aspiring black hat go somewhere else.

    Third, my ISP also has a contract that they can shitcan me off their network if I allowed open access. It might be worded differently, but it is there. It might be not enforced right now, but as audit tools and other items get better, it might be something an ISP can easily catch.

    Fourth, unless I have two APs, or a VPN system, by not locking down my AP, I would be allowing any Tom, Dick, or Harry access to my LAN. This means they are a username and password away from a lot of juicy things such as an Exchange server, my Linux samba server, and so on. They can also try attacks on systems without any worry about being caught if they have any clue at all, even if they can't immediately guess my network topology (I have DHCP service turned off and a nonstandard address range, but that doesn't mean much to any clued attacker)

    Fifth, and this is purely selfish. I don't feel like putting an AP that can do throttling or QoS. Usually someone hopping on someone else's wireless will end up doing high bandwidth P2P stuff. Where I live, they will be charging by the bit. I don't feel like paying for some freeloader's P2P session so they can download the latest pr0n sequel.

    Almost everyone has an iPhone. Want to have a solid (but fairly low bandwidth) Internet connection? Jailbreak and tether your iPhone via Bluetooth or hard wiring to your PC. A lot of Windows Mobile PocketPCs even support tethering as a menu option without requiring any type of futzing to get it running. Or buy a Sprint or Verizon MiFi, chuck it on a table and connect your clients to that.

    Until I am sure I have legal protection from criminal or civil offenses for people on my wireless, I'm not charged for their bits, and I feel like installing a system like NoCatAuth, I'm keeping my APs locked down (and usually turned off when I am not using a laptop.) Let other people who are naiive get sued for large sums of cash or face prison time because a blackhat paid their LAN a visit.

  27. Armani Skirt=DG Jean=DB Bags by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.tntshoes.com

  28. D'oh. by zippthorne · · Score: 1

    Oh geez. instead of alt+numbers, you could just type the numbers. I can't believe I didn't see that.

    --
    Can you be Even More Awesome?!