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to horacebork
Re: tracing a mac addresssaid by horacebork:also, my wifi is set to not broadcast. not sure how someone picked up the network name. You might want to read this Myth vs. reality: Wireless SSIDsUsing WPA2 with a longish password (mine is 63-chars of pseudo-random upper/lower case, digits and symbols) is your best protection. The other stuff doesn't really help, insofar as security, but can still be useful IMO. BTW do you have WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) enabled? That is breakable. WiFi Protected Setup Flaw Can Lead to Compromise of Router PINs |
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Looks like Apple has WPS, but doesn't use it by default and they removed it from their setup wizard in more recent versions. quote:
It seems the picture is getting clearer with every post and I think we can say that using Apple's routers is safe with respect to the current WPS-threat as long as one does not choose to run the optional "Add Wireless Clients..." function (Menu "Base Station" in Airport Utility).
Sheesh, Apple makes technical details so hard to find... People weren't even sure if it did WPS initially since they of course used a different name instead of WPS, and then they've removed the feature from their setup tool, but you can still get to it from older version of the tool, etc. etc. |
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StuartMW
Premium Member
2013-Mar-1 2:20 pm
said by SpHeRe31459:Sheesh, Apple makes technical details so hard to find... Well that is consistent with their whole philosophy of hiding technical details so the "average user" can use the product (whatever it is). |
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to StuartMW
re: depressing info about unbroadcast ssid - got it
re: 63 char wpa2 password - next on my list [edit] done. |
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horacebork
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to StuartMW
Using WPA2 with a longish password (mine is 63-chars of pseudo-random upper/lower case, digits and symbols) is your best protection. The other stuff doesn't really help, insofar as security, but can still be useful IMO. could you put a little more meat on the bones here? i am wondering what happens if someone sees traffic with an 8 char key vs traffic with a 63 char key. how does the snooper know the difference, and what do they see so they can decrypt the key and gain access to the router? is there some way i can see the encrypted key on my router? am i even asking the correct question? [edit] does the ssid have anything to do with the wireless security? |
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StuartMW
Premium Member
2013-Mar-2 4:34 pm
said by horacebork:how does the snooper know the difference, and what do they see so they can decrypt the key and gain access to the router? They don't. Encrypted traffic is encrypted traffic. The difference is that its much easier to brute-force or use a dictionary attack on an 8 characters pass-phrase (especially if it's a word) rather than a longer pseudo-randomly generated one. is there some way i can see the encrypted key on my router? If you mean the actual binary key (vs the "pass-phrase") used for encryption some devices allow you to see that (mine does but not in it's web page). does the ssid have anything to do with the wireless security? Not really. Hiding your SSID prevents less sophisticated people from trying to connect to your network but that's about it. |
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i used to have an 8 character password on my wpa2 wifi. it was very randomized and no dictionary attack could crack it. brute force, quite possibly, i suppose - just keep sending random sequences to the router until something works. start the brute force with 8 char sequences and go from there. re: ssid - here's a quote off a page » cybercoyote.org/classes/ ··· a2.shtmlDue to the naive design of WPA2, the name of your network is the starting point for hackers. It is broadcast in the clear, and it's easy to look up your encryption key on widely available rainbow tables if your SSID is simple. The more random your network name, the better. Treat your WiFi network name as you would a password. Make it complex and avoid using any whole words. Maximum length for an SSID is 32 characters. not sure if it's just nonsense or what. my ssid is kinda short. |
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StuartMW
Premium Member
2013-Mar-2 4:47 pm
As I recall, and I'm not 100% sure, but I think the WPA2 binary encryption key is a one function with the SSID and the pass-phrase as inputs. If so that's why knowing the SSID helps somewhat. But as you now know the SSID, whatever it is, is easily learned as it is transmitted in the clear (broadcasting enabled or not). |
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then the ssid is somewhat useful, but even if it's long, it's still 'in the clear', so a long-ish one could help, but not much.
it would seem to me that the web link i referenced is somewhat misguided wrt long ssid names. |
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 AVDRespice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ |
AVD
Premium Member
2013-Mar-4 12:45 pm
a lot of misinformation floating around. I learned a lot on the wireless security forums. » Security |
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