What Are The Risks Of Unsecure Wireless Networks - What risks are they at?

Hi, I was just wondering what problems persist for a wireless network if they are unsecured. I know the internet connection could be used by an unauthorised source but what else could an unauthorised source do?

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Well I heard that people who knows how to do it can connect to the Internet when you're browsing Internet at your home from your backyard if the waves are floating there, using wireless Internet is quite insecure yet and I think they need to find a way, always sending your info using ssl is quite stupid and you can't always do that, I remember I saw a show on TV how some guys in London or somewhere has crossed places where you can use Internet for free, because of using someone else's wireless Internet connection.

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I think that if you have some secret files on you PC (the phone number of your Girl Friend for instance) on a shared folder, the people sharing your unsecured Wifi network will read your files and know all your secret things.
By the way, I think that the only real way to keep your secret secret is to put no real secret file on your PC.

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With an Un-secured wireless, people around you can.....

1) steal your bandwidth
2) read your incoming and outgoing pop3 / smpt email, and its passwords ( email passwords ar not encrypted, passed as plain text) and very few ISP provided email is tunneled through SSL.
3) read your ftp passwords.
4) generally, invade your privacy

With Secured wireless, they can still do all of the above, they just have to wait 30 minutes while they collect enough encrypted packets to reveal your router encryption key.

i was considering useing wireless for my house, then, after performing all possable steps to increace my security, i managed to crack it in 40 minutes.

so, my whole house is now cat-5'ed

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Also with access to the router or access point they can easilly change all the settings including the hidden ones and generally own your router or AP from then on, they can also watch all packets sent over the network so anything you do they can see. I think the really annoying thing is using your bandwidth though. Also its a pretty good way of getting annonymous internet access for anything like hacking, or anything illegal on the internet. If they really want to get sneaky they could use the information they get to scam you at your door or by email jus saying theyre from a company whose website you visited and con you there!

Are you planning on setting up a wireless network or is it just a curiosity thing?

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Yeah.. if you do get a wireless network make it secured as soon as you can.

Even secured networks can still be broken into, and the consequences of that happening are quite high.
They can look at and change the settings in your modem and hardware.
They can steal your internet access, but they need to be pretty close to the source of the wireless networking for it to be a sufficient speed.
Also they can take a look at all the devices and folders on the network.
Say if your printer is turned on they can print something from it (If the printer is shared).

They can access all the computers on the network, all the shared folders and if they are a good enough hacker, they could even get to EVERY file on your computer.

So, yeah, As you can see it is a BIG privacy issues. You can scan the area if there are any wireless devices so you can make sure it is safe for a wireless network.
If you can, use a wired network.

- HellFire

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What's the big advantage to wireless when you're settng up a home network? Would it be more expensive to set up wired routers and invest in CAT-5 cable? Or is the wireless preference so that you can connect with a laptop computer anywhere in the house?

That - laptop connectivity - is the only reason I can think of for not going with a wired connection at home.

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In my home : the advantage was making no holes in the walls between the four rooms where our four computers were. This is the first advantage with wifi compared to wired : no need to make holes and have wires accross your house, making holes is sometimes dangerous and the black or blue cables are not very nice.
The other advantages is with the laptops : you can watch your DivX movie in your bed, or in the dining room or in the garden, no need to be attached to a data cable.
Yordan

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Yea, poratability and lack of wires is really the main advantages, as well as being able to add new computers to the network without having to cable them into the router. Unfortunately this is the exact advantage for hackers

Cost wise its hard to say which would be better... wired is a cheaper router and cards but if you need alot of cable it can add up to around the same price. Plus alot of routers are starting to just be both wired/wireless now and their pricess are always dropping and there are often good sales.

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Well, the obvious risk is that someone can compromise one of your PCs. If you are behind a wireless router, you are somewhat protected (by NAT, etc.) from the Internet, but wireless hackers are inside your firewall and can attack your systems more easily.

Someone inside your firewall can also listen to your traffic, stealing passwords, recording what sites you visit, etc. They can then steal money from your PayPal account, buy things in your name on eBay, or transfer money from your bank.


Other people can also share your bandwidth through your router to connect to the Internet. often this is not a big problem, but if you pay for your bandwidth, it can run up a bill. Also, if the person using your network is hacking other systems, sending SPAM, or has a virus, you may be blamed for it.

Lastly, someone can eny you your service by taking over your router (they are much easier to hack from the inside), using up your bandwidth, &etc.

 

 

 

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