The wireless computer systems

[Starman]

Thought I would put something out here that others might need to be aware of with their computers.

I have a new system and an HP wireless printer/fax/copier etc....and a wireless router so my daughter can use my printer with her laptop.

Everything was working fine until this past weekend when Becky ( my wife ) tried to use the printer. The computer could not make the connection. So I tried everything I could to no avail......

I had my web-site guy come over Monday evening and for awhile he to was perplexed then decided to check the WEP settings. WEP...., I think stands for web enabled password, I did not ask him, just guessing.

Seems like "someone" who was using the signal from my wireless system put in a password, disabling my printer. This is becoming commonplace and many businesses that offer free wireless are constantly fighting this battle.

On my printer it lists the wireless systems, and along with linksys, there was another name; Chris. A neighbor. Was he responsible ? probably and yes I will chat with him

Bottom line is, the system is working and my wireless signal cannot be used by anyone now because they will need a password. Even when My daughter comes home, I will have to giver her 1 of 3 available passwords. The system has 4...and 1 is used for the printer.

Now if I had my computer set to "sharing" then this or any person who could use my wireless system could have hacked in and found "all" the info on my computer.

I am also the victim of identity theft, by computer fraud, but was able to track down the culprit and am awaiting for a trial date or settlement. So I know first hand about what people can do to you on the computer, and from a message board.

Be careful, stay protected.


Doug may be able to expound on this matter more .

 

[jim rosenthal]

Yes, the temptation via wireless Internet is hard for some folks to resist. This is why I don't have a laptop computer. There's enough confidential stuff on this one that I really would be in trouble if I had a portable and someone got in the disk drive...

I took an identity theft hit a few years back- nearly cleaned my bank account out. I was lucky- an alert banker spotted it. It's an ugly world out there.

 

[rswirtz]

Paul,

If you set your wireless router to 64 bit WEP and use a hex number in there, as simple as a bunch of zeros and a 1, here is mine from my old router (old router Hex: C3030FAF0F4BB2C3D44BC3D4E7) then you won't be sharing your wireless signal anymore and passwords in the house won't be needed and you can have a secure LAN (local area network) Of course, the most important thing for hacks is a firewall.

Rick

 

[Starman]

Hey Rick,

That is exactly what my web guy did, except that even my daughter will need that wep key now to use the system.

I have Norton , which I like, ( seems to keep me STD...ooops , CTD free ) , and it has the firewall and all the other do-dads on it.

Ok, long day, longer day tomorrow.........night night

 

[Boatsb]

The wep encription will be required for all users on the wireless. If you also have wired ethernet passwords ahould be on each computer and sharing should be controlled or 1 system coule be compromised and take out the whole security pckage.

 

[MikeP]

When we moved to Mexico City I took advantage of the situation to which you refer. We moved into an apartment and it was going to be 2 weeks until I could get internet capability. I figured I would have to go to Starbucks every day.

I turned on the laptop the first morning in the apt. The computer found 4 wireless networks - one of which did not require a password. So I got free internet usage from somebody's linksys system. THe Canadian embassy is across the street; it might have been them but I can't imagine that the embassy had open access to their wireless system. I used a wireless system at the house in NY but I never set up a password for it. The unit could be adjusted for range so I just dropped it down to the point where a laptop couldn't get a signal outside the house. I guess there may be some more sensitive laptops or other devices that could pick up the signal though so I guess the password is the only safe way.

Another thing I've wondered about is mail servers. I just switched to Google's mail. THey advertise that you never have to delete messages off the server because each subscriber has 2000+MB of storage space and it increases daily - in fact you can watch it increase. It went up by several MB as I was viewing the site just now. So that means every email for the rest of my life could sit on google's server. THat includes messages to/from financial institutions, etc. This doesn't sound like a good idea. I realize that it's no different than a current mail server except that messages need NEVER be deleted. I'm thinking it's probably a good idea to delete the messages off the server whenever they are downloaded to the computer even though G advertises that you don't have to. THey also make a point that if your computer blows up (or whatever) you still have all your emails (on their server)!

There certainly is a lot to be aware of nowadays - Pharming is becoming quite popular down here so wireless home security is a big thing in the more affluent areas of Mexico City like Polanco. As my father says about their home - "We live on the poorest end of the rich folks street." We're doing about the same thing. Here in Polanco we're decidedly on the lower end of the income scale. The nice thing about living in a nice area is that it's a nice area; the bad thing about it is that the bad people know where it is!

I thought I'd add a bit more on sort of a related subject; I was spoiled in the US by computers! I purchased nearly everything on line - from books to CD/DVDs to clothes to motorcycle/car/boat parts to camera gear to computers etc, etc, etc. Everthing was a mouse-click and a couple of days of shipping away.

Well, you can't do that here! First thing I ran into was trying to download some software. Wouldn't work - they don't sell that software in Mexico so it won't transmit to Mexico! No - it doesn't do any good to claim you're in the US, the internet knows where your computer is located when your on-line! (THey see you when you're sleeping, they know when you're awake. They know if you've been bad or good...sorry, I digress). Ordering any goods via computer is too expensive - shipping and duty add around 40% to the price and several weeks to the delivery time. A textbook my wife needed was shipped from the states - took 8 weeks because of customs/duty.

So down here I actually have to go to stores to buy everything! It's very traumatic and the prices for anything are at least 30% higher than the same goods in the States. Here's a check on marine prices - 5 gal pail of Rotella at a marina store in Ixtapa was nearly 75 bucks; at the marina store at home it's $45.

 

[Genesis]

Ok, couple of things on wireless.....

First, modern wireless routers all support "WPA" or "WPA2". Use it. Wep is a pain in the butt AND the 64-bit keys can be broken quickly. The 128 bit are harder to break but also harder to remember. WPA uses a key management system called "TKIP" or "AES" (either works for most devices) which rotates the actual key in use on a regular basis. This makes it considerably more secure.

Anyone trying to connect to your network after you turn that on will be asked for the key. The key can be any phrase you want. No key, no access. Period.

I strongly recommend NEVER leaving your wireless network unsecured.

As for using OTHER PEOPLE'S insecure wireless, realize that with an unsecure connection anyone can see what you do. You're "safe" on a HTTPS site, as the encryption is on your end all the way to theirs, but anything you do on an "open" site is able to be intercepted. Be cautious - its possible to steal data this way and ultimately to break into your computer. The risk of an intrusion is very real and if a key logger or other "trojan" gets on your machine, it can steal enough information to make it possible for people to then engage in identity theft.

This is also true if you use your laptop in a cyber cafe or other insecure location. I do it, but I have a strong suite of protective software on my machine and I'm VERY careful about what I log into and from where.

 

[Nick]

I was advised by PC rep to use the MAC addresses to control access to our wireless hub. If the wireless router does not recognize the allowed MAC address, then the access to the router is denied. Is the WPA security the preffered method or is it similar?

 

[Genesis]

MAC addresses are trivially easy to change in the computer. While there is a value in each card manufactured essentially ALL cards can have that value overridden with whatever a user would like (assuming the software allows it, and most do.)

Use WPA; do not trust MAC filters. MAC filters not only are trivially easy to penetrate but offer ZERO security for the data contained within the transmission.

 

[Nick]

Thanks Karl!

 

[Starman]

When I got home this evening I came online and checked some emails and whatnot, and all was ok.

A couple hours later I went online: or should say I tried. I gave the system some time thinking the net was down on time warner as it does from time to time.

Well it did not come up. So I called TW and they were able to tell me the Lynksys was causing problems.

Not any more it ain't !

It is gone..

I am hard lined to the net once again , and when my daughter gets home she can use a hard wire for her laptop as well. Seems this wireless system was the root cause of all past problems.

Now who is my neighbor going to steal net time from , LOL ?

 

[Boss Lady]

I would turn it back on, but not connect it to anything. that way the kid next door can keep hacking into it and go nowhere. You could just keep changing the encryption keys on a regular basis so he has something to do. Hackers like a challenge you know. It will drive him nuts to hack in, get connected and then try to figure out what you have done to block from accessing the gateway. LOL

 

[Genesis]

If its using WPA or WPA2 and has a strong (HARD TO GUESS) network key you're not going to get through that......