stupid internet question

It all depends on how you configure your system. If you have file and print sharing turned on then you are asking for trouble.

 

That is a very common myth. Once a data packet hits a LAN/WLAN it's fair game and 9 times out of 10 not encrypted.. furthermore there is a reason you have to upload microsoft security updates every week. By the time the whitehats report it the blackhats have exploited for a month.

Data capture is easy.. because of my past life I have all the tools necessary to capture data packets. Tools readily available on the internet.

 

So do I have the tools from a past life in IT. Any system I've configured that has needed LAN encryption has had it before being on the wire. Same as the WLAN and WAN systems I have setup.

Most of the times data is not encrypted because people don't think they need it, or don't properly know how to setup WLAN or WAN encryption.

BTW: to those not in the know, EVERY operating system comes out with updates on a very regular basis. Especially if those OS's are used in larger industry or commercial environments.

 

Try this.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Multiple_WLANs

 

Oh yeah, the good old (and I use the term loosely regarding stock software and security) Linksys router. I don't think I have used a retail router or AP in about 8 years now. Good for the simple home user who doesn't understand nor want to understand security.

Does anyone else enjoy war driving?

 

Wardriving is the act of searching for Wi-Fi wireless networks by a person in a moving vehicle, using a portable computer or PDA.

 

I had a linux laptop system I played around with a few years ago. Cobbled in an old 1st gen etrex for the gps. Overall it was neat driving around and then seeing where all the wifi was at.

 

If the truck stop does not have fee wifi, ALL McDonalds, and Starbucks now do. And I believe Burger King does also. It is also common at most coffee shops. I would absolutely bring the lap top, it is more than easy enough to find. Hotel lobbies as well.

 

Let me explain what the guy in the freightliner next to me was doing. This is actually pretty interesting! This was also back in 2002.

He was rebroadcasting the WIFI from the truck stop from his truck in the center of the parking lot. He was using a flat panel antenna and had 3 computers (towers) setup on the top bunk.
When a driver came in, and remember most drivers aren't as knowledgable about computers as some of us! I didn't even catch this and I've been "playing" with them since Atari and Commodore were popular!

Because his signal was stronger and had the same IP that your computer recognized it would automatically connect to that signal. What this guy was doing was "key logging" everything that was sent and your firewall and anti virus just didn't catch it and you went on your merry way and did what you usually did. You signed on to your browser, your bank accounts, credit cards, phone and every password you typed in he copied. What he did was basically put a "wiretap" on your signal going out and into his system then it was rebroadcast into the truck stops WIFI and onto the internet.

One of the cops saw me sitting there watching them after they had the guy in the back seat of the car and asked me if I was on a computer on the WIFI and I told him I was. He asked if he could watch my screen after he told me what was going on while they disabled his equipment and I let him in to watch my computer. At the time I was using my tower in the truck as my Think Pad was on the fritz (dead HD) and when they shut him down my connection dropped then reconnected to the real WIFI and I was back on line but that scared the crap out of me! This guy was set up! Big inverters large WIFI system and those towers he had. I wondered what MB's he used and CUPs. But I never went back to a WIFI again! If I couldn't use my lan cable or I saw more than 1 WIFI signal with the same name I'd treat that site like it had the plague until I bought a PCMI card and got online that way!

AS I said all the firewalls and virus protection in the world will not protect you from a hijacked signal. You're going through another computer and all they are doing is copying signals. It's a line tap and nothing that will trip a firewall.

If you do use a WIFI look at the Local Area connection window and see if there are 2 or more connections with the same name. If one has a signal strength a lot higher than the rest then I do think looking at the buildings might be an idea.

Look for the antennas. Look at the main building then at the fuel island then maybe the light poles. If the antennas are all on 1 building and you have maybe a 75% signal strength on one connection and then a 100% on number 2 and you're maybe looking at the building with no blockage of the 2 antennas and the 3rd signal is 75% then 2 antennas and 3 possible connections I'd play solitaire and forget going on line!

BUT I would call the company supplying the WIFI service to the truck stop and ask them how many transmitters they have at that site and explain what you are seeing. I wouldn't waste your time going inside as they have no freaking clue as to what the WIFI does!

I would also, if having used a WIFI, change my passwords and do it real soon but at HOME! That's on everything you clicked on that used a password and do not forget for those of you who point and click that a lot of sites from FaceBook to just signing on to your homepage uses auto sign on so you have already sent your passwords over the WIFI! I hope it's not hijacked and with the crapola going on these days lowlife hackers and criminals are all over WIFI sites especially any of the free ones! That's just easy money for them!

If you insist on using a cheap WIFI may I suggest looking up a cantenna. You can make one or buy one and all it does is makes what could be called a focused beam signal or something like a signal locator. It will allow you to "focus" your signal onto the transmitter on the building and not like your CB antenna which is capturing every signal it sees. Now with all these sill USB and built in antennas on laptops these days and I really haven't seen one with and external antenna plug unless it can be done with a USB plug this won't do you any good! it would work on those guys still using tower units with a PCI WIFI card! Just unscrew the antenna and screw in the cantennas cable and "see" whats out there!

This thread should almost get put in the CB and stuff thread! LOL

 

Rollover, i think that that driver in your story had too much time on his hands, and so do you.

Rollover is right, though, wifi isn't all that secure. If you use a non encrypted email service like Yahoo or gmail, it's not a good idea to check your email while using wifi. You can use gmail, if you use a program like Outlook or Thunderbird and log onto gmail POP style. That is encrypted and safe. Logging onto sites like Facebook is a risk too, because your passwords can be captured, so I'd get in a habit of changing your passwords often if you use wifi.

The big downside of wifi in the truckstops is that the service isn't all that great. The trucks moving around the parking lot tend to block your signal. A lot of times, it's more hassle than it's worth. And it's not free. Most of the truckstops charge $20 a month to use it, and then you can only use it at their truckstop chain. I recommend the VirginMobile deal for $40 a month. You can get the modem for 75$ at Walmart, $140 for the portable hotspot, which you can set up so only you can use. The $40 a month is worth it, in my opinion. You won't have to worry about the security risks that way either.