A few wireless security questions

Facts:

Making use of wireless network
WEP KEY 128 bits Shared authentication ACTIVE


Question:

Is my network traffic allways secured in the following case:

Closeby to my secured network there is also an not secured network. My comp
is connecting to my secured network as it should be but the advanced
wireless settings on my comp.Network Access were set as: Any availalable
network & Automatically connect to network was ON

I know how to change this but is it possible while i have surfing on my own
secured network that I also have been connected to the Non secured network
closeby because of the settings above and that they could hack the trafic
however I had the WEP KEY shared authothentication active?

Thanks

WEP encryption is hackable. If your hardware supports it, use WPA instead.
Stronger, better.

Bill Crocker


<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:41b3458b$0$764$(E-Mail Removed). nl...
> Facts:
>
> Making use of wireless network
> WEP KEY 128 bits Shared authentication ACTIVE
>
>
> Question:
>
> Is my network traffic allways secured in the following case:
>
> Closeby to my secured network there is also an not secured network. My
> comp
> is connecting to my secured network as it should be but the advanced
> wireless settings on my comp.Network Access were set as: Any availalable
> network & Automatically connect to network was ON
>
> I know how to change this but is it possible while i have surfing on my
> own
> secured network that I also have been connected to the Non secured network
> closeby because of the settings above and that they could hack the trafic
> however I had the WEP KEY shared authothentication active?
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:41b3458b$0$764$(E-Mail Removed). nl...
> Facts:
>
> Making use of wireless network
> WEP KEY 128 bits Shared authentication ACTIVE
>
>
> Question:
>
> Is my network traffic allways secured in the following case:
>
> Closeby to my secured network there is also an not secured network. My
> comp
> is connecting to my secured network as it should be but the advanced
> wireless settings on my comp.Network Access were set as: Any availalable
> network & Automatically connect to network was ON
>
> I know how to change this but is it possible while i have surfing on my
> own
> secured network that I also have been connected to the Non secured network
> closeby because of the settings above and that they could hack the trafic
> however I had the WEP KEY shared authothentication active?

As I understand it, you are asking if you could have been connected to BOTH
networks concurrently. If that's what you're asking, the answer is no. Your
client - your PC - only connects to one network at a time.

However, it's entirely possible that you sometimes connect to the unsecured
network instead of your own. The client will connect to the network with the
strongest signal. Normally, that should be yours, but you have no guarantee.
You should configure your router with a unique SSID, and configure the
client to connect only to that SSID - or else configure it to require manual
connection. The only way you will know you are connected to the wrong net is
if to check that the active connection has your SSID, on the channel you
configured for it, with WEP enabled (or else, try to connect to the router's
admin page and verify that it's your router).

I recommend against the shared authentication option. It adds no value, and
provides potential hackers with a little extra information they can use to
try to break your key. With WEP, it's essential to use the longest keylength
supported. I use 152 bits, but 128 is the max for many vendors. 64 bits is
worthless, and can be hacked by brute force. If you use WEP, you should
change the key frequently - the heavier the network traffic flow, the more
often the key change. For most people just surfing the net, every week or so
is probably more than adequate.

WPA is definitely more secure than WEP. But the statistical attacks on WEP
are less effective with newer firmware. IMO, WEP is still adequate for most
home users, if you use long keys, change them often, and put up a wifi
firewall. Never send personal data - credit card numbers, etc. - in the
clear. Be sure you're in an encrypted VPN or an https web page to provide an
extra layer of security.


>
> Thanks
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Gary .... Thanks a lot for your reply. I have to add something to my
previous question:

I found out that I have next to my default wireless card also a 2nd wireless
connection on the mother board (maybe active). So I have 2 wireless
connection points in the comp ansd I was not aware of the the 2nd one.
The first wireless connection has Wep encryption active and is connected to
my privat secured network
The 2nd connection (wireless on the motherboard) has no web encryption and
the Network Access settings are set as: " Any availalable
network & Automatically connect to network was ON "

Question:

Is het possible that the 2nd card is connected to another not secured
network closeby and sends also the same network traffic
as my first default wireless card is sending over mine secured network
(without me being aware of that)?

In other words:
If two network cards are active , one secured over my pricvat network and
the 2nd over another network: is he using both networks to communicate with
internet? Can the not secured network read my trafic?

Thanks .. I hope that I made myself clear ;-)

t

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:41b4e708$0$778$(E-Mail Removed). nl...
> Gary .... Thanks a lot for your reply. I have to add something to my
> previous question:
>
> I found out that I have next to my default wireless card also a 2nd
> wireless
> connection on the mother board (maybe active). So I have 2 wireless
> connection points in the comp ansd I was not aware of the the 2nd one.
> The first wireless connection has Wep encryption active and is connected
> to
> my privat secured network
> The 2nd connection (wireless on the motherboard) has no web encryption and
> the Network Access settings are set as: " Any availalable
> network & Automatically connect to network was ON "
>
> Question:
>
> Is het possible that the 2nd card is connected to another not secured
> network closeby and sends also the same network traffic
> as my first default wireless card is sending over mine secured network
> (without me being aware of that)?

If you have two wifi client adapters, you could be connecting to two wifi
networks. If your second adapter is automatically connecting to somebody
else's net, and both networks are connected to an ISP, then you could be
exchanging internet traffic over a stranger's net without knowing it. When
you connect, a route is set in your host. When you connect to multiple nets,
multiple routes are set. If the routes have equal priority (default), then
whichever net you connected to most recently might be your active net.

If you are not using the second adapter, configure it so that it will not
connect to any network.You should be able to click on the connection icon
and select the disable button. For extra security, assign a random WEP key
to it. If it ever becomes accidentally re-enabled, it will not connect to
any AP that doesn't have the key.

>
> In other words:
> If two network cards are active , one secured over my pricvat network and
> the 2nd over another network: is he using both networks to communicate
> with
> internet? Can the not secured network read my trafic?
>
> Thanks .. I hope that I made myself clear ;-)
>

Thanks Gary ......