[cofe]

i appreciate my homies may tire of my inability to grasp broadband but i've finally got a new ISP and have gone wireless to boot.

so, i've read some stuff on the internet but does anyone have any tips on securing wireless internet?

ta.

[Bubba]

Find a guide to setting up WPA or WPA2 on your operating system. Once you've done that you're secure enough unless you're being very paranoid.

WEP is simpler to set up (or was when i did it last) but is far less secure.

[cofe]

cheers word. have been tweaking wpa so hopefully that's ok. i only ask as i am paranoid.

[Falling Down]

Got something to hide eh Cofe? 

[cofe]

only my secret world powerball champion medals.

[Control freak]

Securing wireless doesnt mean dick - theres a host of apps on the net which will crack encryption keys in a few days. Your best option is to lock access down by MAC address and then rely on SSL encryption to take care of anything which may be vulnerable. Lets face it - all sites which send anything important over the net (such as bank details etc) are all https secured. As for everything else, do you really care if someone else sees what youve posted on UKB??

The only vulnerability with this is that another user could spoof your MAC address to get access, but as far as Im concerned, if they have enough knowledge to do this then theyre probably capable of breaking your key anyway so your no worse off

[Bubba]

Of course it means dick - enabling WPA is going to prevent the vast majority of people casually accessing your network. The tiny percentage of people who are savvy/bothered enough to crack your keys are probably going to get in anyway.

[cofe]

ta

all sites which send anything important over the net (such as bank details etc) are all https secured. As for everything else, do you really care if someone else sees what youve posted on UKB??

this is what i'm worried about. i don't care toffee about what i post on ukb but it's shit like bank stuff etc or just buying stuff online n ting.

[Bubba]

That's generally all https encrypted so don't worry.

[dobbin]

I can crack wep in 60 seconds (or so it says in the blurb of the thing I use). WPA is a bit trickier, as TKIP exchanges keys every few minutes or so.

I can heartily recommend WPA2 encryption using 802.11x tagging and a RADIUS server. You will need three phase power, and a small datacenter in the cellar. Yours for approx 50k.

[Jim]

I can crack wep in 60 seconds (or so it says in the blurb of the thing I use). WPA is a bit trickier, as TKIP exchanges keys every few minutes or so.

I can heartily recommend WPA2 encryption using 802.11x tagging and a RADIUS server. You will need three phase power, and a small datacenter in the cellar. Yours for approx 50k.

whats this crack thing oh dobbinmasterofallthingsgeeky?
PM me, would be usefully to use locked wireless networks on the laptop when away from home (not for anyhing sinister mind)

[dave]

Cofe i've got a 50ft length of network cable you can borrow when you want to buy something or use internet banking. 

[xelaxela]

for the ammount of messing around with wireless my question is "is it really worth it" in my opinion no. cable is far superior, alot faster, alot more reliable and you wont have your neighbours steeling your internet access for free

but this is not what you asked

enabling wep and mac address filtering is about as secure as you need to go anyone who will be able to crack that would not wase time stealing whats one a home users pc

[slackline]

for the ammount of messing around with wireless my question is "is it really worth it" in my opinion no. cable is far superior, alot faster, alot more reliable and you wont have your neighbours steeling your internet access for free

Yes, but who wants to walk from one room to another with a laptop that has a cable trailing from the side.  What about when your out and about and want to use free net access at a pub?  They're not going to run cables to every table in case someone walks in with a laptop and wants to use their net connection, they have a wireless router in place.   The whole point of laptops is to be portable and wireless allows this.

As to whether its worth it, it really isn't technically that hard to buy and set up a wireless router/card.  The motivation differs for each individual, but most people who buy and use it are doing so because they feel that they benefit from having the freedom wireless provides, so for them "is it really worth it?" would be answered with a "yes".