WARNING I am hacking your computer right now!

[dant]

It is possible due to some narrow exposure of the base station
antenna to the other wireless devices. Perhaps the antenna "rods"
are not exposed to a wider area - since line of sight is maximum signal
strength and is severely reduced when passing through walls, and blocked
by metal objects. Distances between the base station and its devices are
also important; the farther away they are, the less the signal strength is
available. There are for some, wireless software to measure that signal
strength reception between itself and the base station.

There are solutions available to boost the signal strength as well as higher gain
antennas for better field patterns and better area coverage and even cables to allow
you to move the antenna to more suitable places and way from the base station.
I have a 32db signal gain booster PLUS a high gain omni directional antenna placed
in my attic at the center of my house and it gives a spherical area coverage up to 500
feet. Penetration through walls are much stronger and antenna placements DO make
a difference. There are no blockage or drops are noticed at all no matter who or what
walks around between the antenna and the wireless devices.

 

[MetaDjinn]

Scio that's not entirely accurate...the protection is not just to prevent someone from breaking your 'pen' but someone might start using your pen to write all sorts of nasty business which is later attributable to you...done from within your network. This is the prevention of crimes of opportunity, not necessarily directed at your computer, but committed 'in your name' so to speak.

Agreed. I once worked for a small software company. There was a time when we noticed that our development environment started getting slower and slower as the days progressed. We discovered that a hacker breached our network and was using one of our servers to host pirated movies. All kinds of films and porn was being served from our network.

Also, being hacked isn't always about who or where you are. I once had the pleasure of battling a hacker on my home PC. I am nobody. There are programs scouring the net looking for open doors. They don't care who you are, they just want control and information.

 

[Azur]

Here's an interesting article about the weakness of WEP.

Now it takes just 3 seconds to extract a 104-bit WEP key from intercepted data using a 1.7GHz Pentium M processor. The necessary data can be captured in less than a minute, and the attack requires so much less computing power than previous attacks that it could even be performed in real time by someone walking through an office.

_http://www.itworldcanada.com/Pages/Docbase/ViewArticle.aspx?id=idgml-56afeedc-2543-458f&Portal=479bef03-5b6d-4a21-9c1a-9a0c1885d3a4&sub=205023

 

[MetaDjinn]

Here's an interesting article about the weakness of WEP.

Use WPA or WPA2 instead of WEP.

 

[rs]

Here's an interesting article about the weakness of WEP.

Use WPA or WPA2 instead of WEP.

I design this stuff for a living. I use a CAT-5 cable... When I set up my home network, I went out of my way to purchase a router that did *not* have wireless.

Bluetooth? Nope, not for me. Wireless USB? Fuhgetaboutit.

For kicks, I turned on my wireless adapter on my laptop. I found three neighborhood networks, only one of which was secured. However, nobody is hacking into my network unless I see a wire hanging out the window...

 

[ScioAgapeOmnis]

However, nobody is hacking into my network unless I see a wire hanging out the window...

Are you connected to the internet? If so, wouldn't this be a wire going "out the window"?

 

[rs]

However, nobody is hacking into my network unless I see a wire hanging out the window...

Are you connected to the internet? If so, wouldn't this be a wire going "out the window"?

Stop making sense... :)

 

[Azur]

Here's an interesting article about the weakness of WEP.

Use WPA or WPA2 instead of WEP.

Yep, read the beginning of the thread.

 

[Azur]

Here's an interesting article about the weakness of WEP.

Use WPA or WPA2 instead of WEP.

I design this stuff for a living. I use a CAT-5 cable... When I set up my home network, I went out of my way to purchase a router that did *not* have wireless.

Bluetooth? Nope, not for me. Wireless USB? Fuhgetaboutit.

For kicks, I turned on my wireless adapter on my laptop. I found three neighborhood networks, only one of which was secured. However, nobody is hacking into my network unless I see a wire hanging out the window...

I don't use ANYTHING wireless either. (The worst idea E-VAR: wireless keyboard. Doh!)


Cheers.