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Home WiFi Network Security Failings Exposed
An anonymous reader writes "The shocking state of home wireless (Wi-Fi) network security in the UK has been revealed by a life assistance company study. CPP used an 'ethical hacker,' Jason Hart, to test thousands of Wi-Fi networks across six UK cities, including London. He found that many didn't even have a password and roughly half of home UK Wi-Fi networks could be hacked in less than 5 seconds."
If you were in any doubt as to why they were sponsoring a study which discovered something scary about the intertrons.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
My Wi-Fi has no password, and that's a purposeful choice. While evaluating the passwords on WiFi that does have a password is a reasonable analysis, it's not reasonable to call any WiFi without a password as unsecured.
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
There is no way to know if the open wifi networks are open intentionally or not. Just ask Bruce Schneier. Saying they're "open to criminals" is biased, maybe "open to visitors" would be more appropriate. How come coffee shops and other businesses with open wifi aren't called out for letting criminals access the network?
You seem to be confusing "unsecured" with "insecure". They do not mean the same thing.
Unsecured WIFI means you have no password..
Just because it's intentionally unsecured doesn't mean it's not unsecured.
Honest question here. Say I wanted to setup and open a WiFi AP for neighbors to check email, etc, when their connection is down. How can I do that and not get screwed if they download kiddie porn or send a threatening letter to the white house? Yes, I'm in the US. I know I can use the TOR network, but frankly, I'd rather not. Is there any legal way I can share my network connection to those that need it without setting myself up for a world of hurt?
Again, I realize this is OT, but it's an honest question.
Unfortunately that only changes the login for your router admin page. That has nothing to do with WEP/WPA/WPA2.
My Wi-Fi has no password, and that's a purposeful choice.
Which doesn't mean it's not unsecured. It just means that it's unsecured on purpose.
Supposed you have a bicycle. You chain it to a lamppost. It is now secured.
Supposed you take the same bicycle and decide purposely to not chain it to anything. Just because you decided not to chain it doesn't make it magically secured. It's still unsecured, you just made the decision not to secure it.
Lets face it, yeah, wi-fi routers can be hacked, yeah, a lot of people don't have secure wi-fi, but in all honesty does it matter to most people? Credit card information already should be encrypted with HTTPS so that wouldn't be sniffed, most sites let you use security to log in, etc.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
He found that many didn't even have a password and roughly half of home UK Wi-Fi networks could be hacked in less than 5 seconds."
I'm impressed. I can't connect to my own wireless network in less than 5 seconds.
And yet, the world keeps on turning.
Hopping onto somebody's wifi doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean you can get their personal documents, or banking info, or anything else.
"* We found that nearly a quarter of private wireless networks has no password whatsoever attached, making them immediately accessible to criminals."
So that's not just home networks then, that includes businesses deliberatly running open wifi as a service to visitors, and all sorts of commercial access points that are "open" in that they get you to a login provider for the service, which you then have to log in to? How many these "private wireless networks" are adhoc wireless on one PC connected to nothing in particular?
The first link is just an advert selling snake-oil, the second contains no information to speak of. No link to any "report" at all.
Its so cute how kids today think 'hacking' is obtaining access to an unprotected WAP.
... then it's not called 'hacking', it's called 'connecting to an open access point'. Next thing you know, sticking a DVD in your computer's drive and installing software will be called 'hacking'. Have we fallen so far?
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
Why is it so hard for industry (default configurations) to move from open or WEP to WPA? Sure, WPA isn't perfect, but it does represent a significant increase in difficulty for hackers.
I use WEP+MAC filtering because I have a really old WiFi card that doesn't handle WPA and no reason to replace it.And to be blunt, that's just fine; it deters the neighbors enough to stop them using my 'net connection. It won't stop a determined hacker, but exactly when is that going to be a problem?
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
This points out a major issue, many non technical users often do not know the difference between security of the router and security of the wifi signal itself. Many people just change the router's password and think they are "safe".
Noone writes jokes in base 13!
I was passing the time on the bus the other day with a smartphone watching people's networks fade in and out of range. Most are called "2WIRE_565" or something dull like that, but the bus passes by some dickhead who calls his network "MineAndNotYours" and other people broadcasting "CowboysFan" etc. Someone on my street is broadcasting an SSID of "hornygirl", so I have to bring my smartphone trick-or-treating this Halloween.