Is this secure?

What is the recommended level of security for a home wireless network?

I have turned off DHCP serving, my AP will only assign a static IP address
to the MAC on my laptop. The way it is set up, my laptop is the only
wireless device that can tap into my wireless network. Or is it?

Is the security of my network at risk under the circumstances? I have not
turned on encryption or any other sort of wireless protection. If this is
not a secure setup, please recommend steps I can take to safeguard my
network.

Roy N. wrote:

> What is the recommended level of security for a home wireless network?
>
> I have turned off DHCP serving, my AP will only assign a static IP address
> to the MAC on my laptop. The way it is set up, my laptop is the only
> wireless device that can tap into my wireless network. Or is it?
>
> Is the security of my network at risk under the circumstances? I have not
> turned on encryption or any other sort of wireless protection. If this is
> not a secure setup, please recommend steps I can take to safeguard my
> network.

Your network is not secure. Your MAC is visible to monitoring software, as
is everything you send & receive. On my home network, I have 128 bit WEP
enabled and use a VPN. While someone may be able to break WEP, they'd
still have to get through my firewall.

--

Fundamentalism is fundamentally wrong.

To reply to this message, replace everything to the left of "@" with
james.knott.

"James Knott" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:B5QNb.177355$(E-Mail Removed). cable.rogers.com...
> Roy N. wrote:
>
> > What is the recommended level of security for a home wireless network?
> >
> > I have turned off DHCP serving, my AP will only assign a static IP
address
> > to the MAC on my laptop. The way it is set up, my laptop is the only
> > wireless device that can tap into my wireless network. Or is it?
> >
> > Is the security of my network at risk under the circumstances? I have
not
> > turned on encryption or any other sort of wireless protection. If this
is
> > not a secure setup, please recommend steps I can take to safeguard my
> > network.
>
> Your network is not secure. Your MAC is visible to monitoring software,
as
> is everything you send & receive. On my home network, I have 128 bit WEP
> enabled and use a VPN. While someone may be able to break WEP, they'd
> still have to get through my firewall.
>

What good is my MAC address to anyone?

Other than beng able to see transmissions between my wireless devices, will
they be able to actually get unauthorized access to my network?

Is this a serious risk in residential areas or is this more of a concern in
corporate environments?

In article <iLXNb.81282$xy6.138930@attbi_s02>, (E-Mail Removed)
says...
>
> "James Knott" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:B5QNb.177355$(E-Mail Removed). cable.rogers.com...
> > Roy N. wrote:
> >
> > > What is the recommended level of security for a home wireless network?
> > >
> > > I have turned off DHCP serving, my AP will only assign a static IP
> address
> > > to the MAC on my laptop. The way it is set up, my laptop is the only
> > > wireless device that can tap into my wireless network. Or is it?
> > >
> > > Is the security of my network at risk under the circumstances? I have
> not
> > > turned on encryption or any other sort of wireless protection. If this
> is
> > > not a secure setup, please recommend steps I can take to safeguard my
> > > network.
> >
> > Your network is not secure. Your MAC is visible to monitoring software,
> as
> > is everything you send & receive. On my home network, I have 128 bit WEP
> > enabled and use a VPN. While someone may be able to break WEP, they'd
> > still have to get through my firewall.
> >
>
> What good is my MAC address to anyone?
>
> Other than beng able to see transmissions between my wireless devices, will
> they be able to actually get unauthorized access to my network?
>
> Is this a serious risk in residential areas or is this more of a concern in
> corporate environments?
>
>
>

If I have your MAC address, I can clone it and make your network believe
I _am_ you.

WEP is notoriously porous.

So breaking into your network is going to be pretty trivial.

The overal risk is a function of the effectiveness of your security
measures, the value of the lost or compromised data, and the motivation
of the person or persons who want in.

You can only guess at that third variable; motivation.

Roy N. wrote:

> What good is my MAC address to anyone?
>
> Other than beng able to see transmissions between my wireless devices,
> will they be able to actually get unauthorized access to my network?
>
> Is this a serious risk in residential areas or is this more of a concern
> in corporate environments?
>

Some people set up their systems to filter on MAC address. If such is the
case, simple monitoring will reveal a valid MAC, which can then be used to
gain access. Also, if your dhcp server is assigning IPs based on MACs,
then "borrowing" your MAC will make them appear as you. Security will of
course be more important on business networks, but it's still a concern for
home users. For example, in Toronto recently someone was arrested for
using wireless to gain access to the internet for downloading kiddy porn.
He'd drive around a neighbourhood, until he found a usable connection.

--

Fundamentalism is fundamentally wrong.

To reply to this message, replace everything to the left of "@" with
james.knott.

"Roy N." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:6jPNb.78650$8H.115665@attbi_s03...
> What is the recommended level of security for a home wireless network?
>
> I have turned off DHCP serving, my AP will only assign a static IP address
> to the MAC on my laptop. The way it is set up, my laptop is the only
> wireless device that can tap into my wireless network. Or is it?
>
> Is the security of my network at risk under the circumstances? I have not
> turned on encryption or any other sort of wireless protection. If this is
> not a secure setup, please recommend steps I can take to safeguard my
> network.
>

Turn off SSID broadcasting

>
> Some people set up their systems to filter on MAC address. If such is the
> case, simple monitoring will reveal a valid MAC, which can then be used to
> gain access.


Are you saying that if the wireless AP is set to only allow access
from specific MAC addresses, that is a bad thing? I'm I reading
what you wrote incorrectly?



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Flash wrote:

>> Some people set up their systems to filter on MAC address. If such is
>> the case, simple monitoring will reveal a valid MAC, which can then be
>> used to gain access.
>
>
> Are you saying that if the wireless AP is set to only allow access
> from specific MAC addresses, that is a bad thing? I'm I reading
> what you wrote incorrectly?
>

It's not a bad thing. However, relying on it as a security measure is. It
will only stop casual intruders.

--

Fundamentalism is fundamentally wrong.

To reply to this message, replace everything to the left of "@" with
james.knott.

MAC filtering and static IP addresses are not adequate security measures.
Any eavesdropper with AirSnort or Kismet can monitor your traffic, figure
out your MAC and IP addresses, and become you (as far as your router is
concerned). Turning off SSID broadcast doesn't hurt, but has very little
security value. If you actually use your network, a wardriver can catch your
traffic and identify your SSID - when a client associates with the network,
it transmits this in the clear. A clever wardriver can force your client to
reassociate with the network, just in order to get the SSID.

Use WEP with the longest key it supports (usually 128 or better). Change the
key frequently. Change the password on your router admin page frequently,
and if you can, make the router admin page accessable only via wired
Ethernet.

WEP is not very secure, but it is vastly better than no encryption at all.
WPA is still better, but WEP is adequate for most home users.

"Roy N." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:6jPNb.78650$8H.115665@attbi_s03...
> What is the recommended level of security for a home wireless network?
>
> I have turned off DHCP serving, my AP will only assign a static IP address
> to the MAC on my laptop. The way it is set up, my laptop is the only
> wireless device that can tap into my wireless network. Or is it?
>
> Is the security of my network at risk under the circumstances? I have not
> turned on encryption or any other sort of wireless protection. If this is
> not a secure setup, please recommend steps I can take to safeguard my
> network.
>
>
>

In article <BV1Ob.791$(E-Mail Removed) m>, Gary wrote:
> Use WEP with the longest key it supports (usually 128 or better). Change the
> key frequently. Change the password on your router admin page frequently,
> and if you can, make the router admin page accessable only via wired
> Ethernet.

Would this not be a somewhat paranoid approach to apply to a wi-fi network in
a suburban home where no other wireless units have ever shown up in the search
box? If there's nobody else round here using it, I wouldn't expect it to be a
prime target area for these electronic miscreants. I mean, I lock my front
door of course, but I don't have a moat and a 24 hour armed guard...

Rod.