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Kojak1958

join:2009-10-29
Hauppauge, NY

New to wireless security

Greetings,

I think I've got all the bases covered.

I'm currently employing WPA2-PSK network authentication
and AES data encryption.

My SSID Broadcast is disabled. My SSID consists
of a 29 character mix of numbers and letters
(no dictionary terms).

My network key consists of a 63 character mix
of letters and numbers (no dictionary terms).

What do you guys think ?


SoonerAl
Old Enough To Know Better
Premium,MVM
join:2002-07-23
Norman, OK

I would not bother with disabling the SSID broadcast. You can cause connectivity issues with your clients and its simply not a valid security measure. Otherwise except for a long SSID, I use a simple and short unique SSID, that is how I protect my home wireless network.

»Wireless Networking Forum FAQ »What happens when I disable SSID Broadcast? Am I more secure?

»technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libr···942.aspx

»theillustratednetwork.mvps.org/L···ity.html
--
"When all else fails, read the instructions..."
MS-MVP Windows Desktop Experience

Kojak1958

join:2009-10-29
Hauppauge, NY


4 edits
said by SoonerAl See Profile :

I would not bother with disabling the SSID broadcast. You can cause connectivity issues with your clients and its simply not a valid security measure. Otherwise except for a long SSID, I use a simple and short unique SSID, that is how I protect my home wireless network.

»Wireless Networking Forum FAQ »What happens when I disable SSID Broadcast? Am I more secure?

»technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libr···942.aspx

»theillustratednetwork.mvps.org/L···ity.html
Thanks for the information. My network is a home/private network. I've re-enabled SSID broadcast. I left the long string of characters for my SSID. As opposed to a short SSID, when hashed with the 63 character key, it's my understanding this will improve the security of my network. Yes ?

P.S.

I installed/ran inSSIDer. Marvelous tool ! Everyone within range (including myself were on Ch. 6 . I moved to a different channel.
When setting up my wireless connection, I selected WPA2-PSK.
inSSIDer says I'm using WPA2-CCMP. What's up with that ?

P.P.S.

Re: WPA2-CCMP, I got my answer here:

»www.intel.com/support/wireless/w···5806.htm

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCMP


SoonerAl
Old Enough To Know Better
Premium,MVM
join:2002-07-23
Norman, OK

Here are some threads that talk a bit about a long SSID, hash values, etc.

»WPA

»How to make sure my wireless point not to be hacked?

Personally I configured my wireless network with a short SSID, ie. 5 characters, a long 63-character random ASCII key and use WPA2-PSK [AES] and sleep well at night.
--
"When all else fails, read the instructions..."
MS-MVP Windows Desktop Experience

Kojak1958

join:2009-10-29
Hauppauge, NY

2 edits
reply to Kojak1958
I reiterated my remaining question without refreshing the page.

Hence the noted editing. Thanks for your help.

Kojak1958

join:2009-10-29
Hauppauge, NY

reply to SoonerAl
said by SoonerAl See Profile :

Here are some threads that talk a bit about a long SSID, hash values, etc.

»WPA

»How to make sure my wireless point not to be hacked?

Personally I configured my wireless network with a short SSID, ie. 5 characters, a long 63-character random ASCII key and use WPA2-PSK [AES] and sleep well at night.
I gather from reading, the SSID characters are randomly injected into the network authentication key. Thus, logically a long SSID increases the difficulty of cracking the N.A.K.

jbibe
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-22


1 edit
said by Kojak1958 See Profile :

I gather from reading, the SSID characters are randomly injected into the network authentication key. Thus, logically a long SSID increases the difficulty of cracking the N.A.K.
The SSID is appended to the end of the passphrase. The result is then hashed 4096 times to produce the desired 256-bit PSK (Pre-Shared Key). Since the SSID is known, or can be easily recovered, a long SSID does not add any strength. Select a unique SSID that you can easily remember. The strength of the PSK depends on the unknown passphrase. As a minimum, select passphrase with 30 random, printable, ASCII characters. Better yet, select a passphrase with 63 random ASCII characters, as suggested by SoonerAL.

Kojak1958

join:2009-10-29
Hauppauge, NY

 
said by jbibe See Profile :

said by Kojak1958 See Profile :

I gather from reading, the SSID characters are randomly injected into the network authentication key. Thus, logically a long SSID increases the difficulty of cracking the N.A.K.
The SSID is appended to the end of the passphrase. The result is then hashed 4096 times to produce the desired 256-bit PSK (Pre-Shared Key). Since the SSID is known, or can be easily recovered, a long SSID does not add any strength. Select a unique SSID that you can easily remember. The strength of the PSK depends on the unknown passphrase. As a minimum, select passphrase with 30 random, printable, ASCII characters. Better yet, select a passphrase with 63 random ASCII characters, as suggested by SoonerAL.
Thanks. My current passphrase is 63 random Alpha-numeric characters.
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