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Why are so people so paranoid (anal?) about wireless internet security?

D

Dragnov

Diamond Member
I can understand if its a company, or possibly if you're in an apartment complex/dorm room or something. But for the average home user, is it really so much to care about?

Do people really need all that security? I mean for me, unless they like to park right on my driveway and have their laptop in hand, it's not like they will get any connection. I do live in the suburbs, and I am like the only one w/ broadband internet in the neighborhood, but what do others say?
 
Originally posted by: Gr1mL0cK
I can understand if its a company, or possibly if you're in an apartment complex/dorm room or something. But for the average home user, is it really so much to care about?

Do people really need all that security? I mean for me, unless they like to park right on my driveway and have their laptop in hand, it's not like they will get any connection. I do live in the suburbs, and I am like the only one w/ broadband internet in the neighborhood, but what do others say?
Click to expand...
they could use an antenna and get free broadband from you.
 
i dont really bother with it. I see one other network other than my own in my apartment and it's a very weak signal.

I had WEP enabled but my roomy has a ghetto wireless adapter that makes him re-type in the 128 bit encryption key everytime he reboots his computer.
 
I use Microsoft Money on my home machine.

All of my bank accounts, stock accounts, investment accounts are all there.

That's just one reason I'm paranoid about wireless security at home.
 
If they're on your network, they're inside / behind the router's firewall -- so if they have a worm infection you'd better be running software firewalls on all of your PCs.

(ed) and you'd better have all the security updates installed, since there have been a huge number of LAN-based exploits / security holes in Windows that you were safe from when everyone else was outside your firewall.
 
Originally posted by: Gr1mL0cK
I can understand if its a company, or possibly if you're in an apartment complex/dorm room or something. But for the average home user, is it really so much to care about?

Do people really need all that security? I mean for me, unless they like to park right on my driveway and have their laptop in hand, it's not like they will get any connection. I do live in the suburbs, and I am like the only one w/ broadband internet in the neighborhood, but what do others say?
Click to expand...

I live in a neighborhood like you, and I don't really have any important docs on my network, so I don't even think about it.
 
Originally posted by: Gr1mL0cK
I can understand if its a company, or possibly if you're in an apartment complex/dorm room or something. But for the average home user, is it really so much to care about?
Do people really need all that security? I mean for me, unless they like to park right on my driveway and have their laptop in hand, it's not like they will get any connection. I do live in the suburbs, and I am like the only one w/ broadband internet in the neighborhood, but what do others say?
Click to expand...

In this country (US), with the current laws, I could park in front of your home and do things on that connection that you would get blamed for. Yes it's stupid, but it's just easier to be safer than sorry...
Bill


 
If someone wants to sit outside my aparment and download porn with cable connection, I really don't care. It's not like there's stuff on the network just sitting there waiting for them to access it, they'd have to know my password.
 
Haha, this is a good topic. One of my neighbors has a wireless router (or AP) and I've connected to and used it before, just for fun. No WEP, no security whatsoever, just an open WAP. I could easily have used up their monthly allocation of bandwidth or spread some nasty things through their connection and it would be their fault. Another story is when I visited UC Berkeley and stayed at the Hotel Durant. I had no internet access but needed to research and write an essay (I was visiting because I would be applying soon, which is currently about now). So, I turned on my laptop and looked for available wireless networks, and whaddya know someone had one, no WEP. So I connect and their connection works, so I use that.

If I traveled more and abused this lack of security more I'm sure I could come up with many more similar scenarios. Anyway, just do some simple things. Use WEP, disable SSID broadcast, etc.
 
i started to get a little paranoid when my laptop picked up about 3 different access points/SSID's in my home, from various neighbors. before that, i just used MAC filtering. now i use MAC filtering and 128-bit encryption.
 
I use MAC filtering and 128-bit WEP. I share folders and drives on my network. So someone stealing my bandwidth is the least of my worries.
 
I've driven around my neighborhood with my laptop scanning for wireless APs. None found so far, so I don't worry about it.
 
Originally posted by: bsobel
Originally posted by: Gr1mL0cK
I can understand if its a company, or possibly if you're in an apartment complex/dorm room or something. But for the average home user, is it really so much to care about?
Do people really need all that security? I mean for me, unless they like to park right on my driveway and have their laptop in hand, it's not like they will get any connection. I do live in the suburbs, and I am like the only one w/ broadband internet in the neighborhood, but what do others say?
Click to expand...

In this country (US), with the current laws, I could park in front of your home and do things on that connection that you would get blamed for. Yes it's stupid, but it's just easier to be safer than sorry...
Bill
Click to expand...


this is very true... if your computer is compromised, and is used in aiding some sort of attack, you can be sued for negligence (or so the sysad told us) ... so someone could get on your network and launch an attack and put your name on it...
 
hmmm, guess you have nothing at all on your computer that you would freely hand out to anybody at all without your knowledge?

I have years of tax forms, mortgages, passwords, financial plans, work stuff that is confidential, etc, etc, etc.

It is well known in the industry that wireless is wide open by default.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
If someone wants to sit outside my aparment and download porn with cable connection, I really don't care. It's not like there's stuff on the network just sitting there waiting for them to access it, they'd have to know my password.
Click to expand...

No I wouldn't need your password, just access to tcp port 137.

I now have root access to your machine. (if your running windows)

Otherwise I'll just sniff for a while and get some passwords of yours.
 
At home, i use mac filtering and stopped bothering with WEP.

At work, on the other hand, we won't even touch wireless for a few more months using the most secure hardware (probably relying on LEAP authentication)
 
I have 256 WEP, MAC filtering, narrow range of IPs, SSID Broadcast Disabled. It's not like it's hard to set these things up, why not do it. And in an apartment building it's not like someone will be sitting outside in a parking lot, they could be next door comfortably sitting at their laptop stealing your internet connection on a regular basis. I don't know about you but I protect whats mine, whatever it is.
 
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