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Windows 10 Shares Your Wi-Fi Password With Contacts

Posted by samzenpus on from the do-not-share dept.

gsslay writes: The Register reports that Windows 10 will include, defaulted on, "Wi-Fi Sense" which shares wifi passwords with Outlook.com contacts, Skype contacts and, with an opt-in, Facebook friends. This involves Microsoft storing the wifi passwords entered into your laptop which can then be used by any other person suitably connected to you. If you don't want someone's Windows 10 passing on your password, Microsoft has two solutions; only share passwords using their Wi-Fi Sense service, or by adding "_optout" to your SSID.

11 of 487 comments (clear)

  1. if that's true, by unami · · Score: 5, Insightful

    no guests with windows laptops on my wifi - i'm not going to change my ssid, microsoft style. ugh. i guess this issue will resolve itself after a short shitstorm.

    1. Re:if that's true, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      The Slashdot summary is pure FUD. In the article itself you can see an image of the settings, with a large checkbox to enable/disable sharing with Outlook, Skype and Facebook independently and it also has a large slider above those where you can disable it entirely.

    2. Re:if that's true, by hawguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The Slashdot summary is pure FUD. In the article itself you can see an image of the settings, with a large checkbox to enable/disable sharing with Outlook, Skype and Facebook independently and it also has a large slider above those where you can disable it entirely.

      Did you read the box?

      Save on mobile data usage with Wifi Sense. Join in and get connected to WiFi. By using WiFi Sense, you agree that it can use your location.

      Who doesn't want to save on mobile data usage!? How many people will opt-out? Where does it say that by opting in that they are sharing their Wifi passphrase with everyone they share to? It may be obvious to you, but not to 99% of the people that will run Windows 10.

    3. Re:if that's true, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Your password is stored and hashed on Microsoft's servers. The hash is sent to your contacts. When they try to connect, their computer sends the hash to yours, which then checks that hash against the one on Microsoft's servers. If they match, then access is granted.

  2. No by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    ahhhh no, for networks you have SELECTED to share it can do it. Wifi sense being on doesn't suddenly expose all your wifi passwords. extremely inflammatory summary. still seems a stupid risky feature, just not as dumb as those writing the Slashdot summaries.

    1. Re:No by amicusNYCL · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Serious question - who here is not running a guest wifi access point?

      I'm going to guess the vast majority of people running wifi at home. My office has a guest network, my house does not.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    2. Re:No by ewhac · · Score: 5, Informative

      ahhhh no, for networks you have SELECTED to share it can do it. [ ... ]

      ERROR: MISLEADING.

      Wi-Fi Sense's default settings are to share everything, all the time. Indeed, Microsoft's rules for shipping Windows Phone 8.1 requires OEMs to turn this "killer feature" fully on. Expecting users to have the presence of mind to turn this off is willfully disingenuous.

      --
      Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
  3. Not Exactly.... by nate_in_ME · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've been running pretty much every build of Win10 since the preview first came out, and this isn't accurate at all....Yes, the Wi-Fi sense option is there, but when you connect to a new network, there's a "share with my contacts" checkbox that you have to turn ON for this network to be shared. The Wi-Fi Sense "master switch" may be on by default, but you have to specifically allow each individual network to be shared.

    1. Re:Not Exactly.... by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That isn't the issue. The issue is YOU being able to share MY WiFi key because I was dumb enough to let a Windows 10 user on my WiFi network. This is akin to me giving you the keys to my house so you can housesit, and you getting a hundred copies cut and distributing them to a bunch of people you know.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  4. Re:Bad Summary, Only new part is the sharing optio by ewhac · · Score: 5, Interesting

    First, we're only talking Windows 10 PHONE

    ERROR: INCORRECT

    First: This is in Windows 10 desktop, as detailed here, complete with screenshots: http://www.howtogeek.com/21970...

    Second: Even if this were only confined to Windows Phone 10, it would still be monumentally stupid.

    --
    Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
  5. Re:Microsoft is widely misunderstood. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What I would like to see explained in more detail

    Explanation: Microsoft is widely misunderstood. People think that Microsoft is a software company that does evil. That's not true. Microsoft's main purpose is delivering evil. The software is just a means of doing that. (My opinion, shared with others.)

    So you mean evil as a service, rather than evil as a platform?