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The Crow
Stranger



Registered: 04/03/07
Posts: 1,774
Loc: giving birth
Last seen: 10 years, 9 months
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Am I more vulnerable over WiFi?
#7303467 - 08/17/07 01:23 AM (16 years, 5 months ago) |
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I use my neighbor's wifi. I noticed when I first connected it was saying "information is sent over an unsecure network and may be intercepted by a 3rd party"
Oh noes! Isn't this very, very bad?
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BlueDruid
Stranger

Registered: 06/27/06
Posts: 807
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Re: Am I more vulnerable over WiFi? [Re: The Crow]
#7303863 - 08/17/07 05:38 AM (16 years, 5 months ago) |
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It is for your neighbour whose wifi you're stealing.
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simplystoned
Tree Wizard




Registered: 03/28/07
Posts: 865
Loc: K-Town up in this biache
Last seen: 16 years, 3 months
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Re: Am I more vulnerable over WiFi? [Re: BlueDruid]
#7308050 - 08/18/07 03:52 PM (16 years, 5 months ago) |
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Erm. This can be considered either good or bad.
The message you received was just Windows telling you that the wifi you were connected to isn't encrypted. This means both that you can connect to the network without authentication, but so can anyone else. Additionally, anybody with half of a brain could connect to the network and read any packets floating the network (including yours, of course) in plain text. This could be done by downloading a packet sniffer such as wireshark and simply connecting to the network.
See below:

However, using somebody else's wifi isn't necessarily a bad thing. Usually if it's unencrypted you can obtain access to the router by using the default u/p for the router (which can be found by a simple google search). From there you can take steps to secure what is now your router. This is just a suggestion, there are numerous ways to obtain access to routers (vulnerable firmware, bf attacks, insecurities in packet forwarding, ect).
There are some upsides to using a random wifi connection, one of which is that it's generally more secure then your own connection for shady things like shroomery. The only logs are of what you transmit over the network and the hostname of your computer.
If you insist on using an unencrypted connection to do your dirty work, I definitely suggest buying a shroomery supporter account and connecting only HTTPS. In addition enable shroomery secure private messaging!
Hope this helps
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"Your pain is the breaking of the shell which encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility: For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen, And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears." - Kahlil Gibran
Edited by simplystoned (08/18/07 04:12 PM)
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OJK
Stranger


Registered: 06/08/03
Posts: 10,629
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Re: Am I more vulnerable over WiFi? [Re: simplystoned]
#7310627 - 08/19/07 01:06 PM (16 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
simplystoned said: However, using somebody else's wifi isn't necessarily a bad thing. Usually if it's unencrypted you can obtain access to the router by using the default u/p for the router (which can be found by a simple google search). From there you can take steps to secure what is now your router.
What?
Are you suggesting setting up encryption on somebody else's router?
Unless it's a router that supports multiple APs (rare), don't you think Random Joe Neighbour is going to notice that suddenly he can't use his own wireless?
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simplystoned
Tree Wizard




Registered: 03/28/07
Posts: 865
Loc: K-Town up in this biache
Last seen: 16 years, 3 months
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Re: Am I more vulnerable over WiFi? [Re: OJK]
#7311012 - 08/19/07 02:46 PM (16 years, 5 months ago) |
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No, setting up encryption on somebody else's router would be a rather stupid decision. I was suggesting changing the default u/p (something that doesn't get noticed unless the router needs to be serviced, in which case the default button usually gets hit) and determining what computers connected to the wifi were that of the owners and then setting up a filter that only allows the hostnames you want connected to connect. From there you'd want to disable any router logging, probably turn on remote router access (for telnet access if you ever get locked out), update the firmware of the router to the most recent and make backups of the current firmware. You also might want to set up filters for outgoing http that include certain sniffer websites and other things you might not want them looking into.
Regardless of what you do, if you're using an unencrypted connection to connect to the internet you want it to be under your control, and you need to be doing your business on an encrypted medium.
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"Your pain is the breaking of the shell which encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility: For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen, And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears." - Kahlil Gibran
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