WiFi passwords

[soup]

I have found (they weren't lost) lots of videos on youtube
regarding finding out people's WiFi passwords. I am scared
to download these in case they contain viruses. I have a
decent connection so these are pretty useless for me,but I
also have a Wireless router and am a tad concerned that if
the password is so easy to crack it is less than worthless.
Are WiFi passwords so easy to crack or are these videos
just a means of propogating viruses?

[Mike Easter]

You are alluding to more than one issue here, but not concisely defining
any particular issue, so I will address which alluded issues I am
ignoring and am defining one limited issue to address.

I am ignoring your issue with a fear of handling YouTube vids.

I am largely ignoring the broad vague general category of password
cracking and parts of the also broad category of cracking wifi passwords
to focus on one area of recommendation, how to address your router's
wifi security.

WPA is less insecure than WEP, so it is a much better choice for your
wifi security. The fact that WPA is also vulnerable to cracking should
not cause you to think 'it is less than worthless'. If you take
measures to aid your security, your wifi is more 'secure' against
trivial cracking than if you don't.

You can hide your SSID and also make sure that the selected SSID does
not appear in the list of top 1000 SSIDs which are used by some
downloadable rainbow tables .

You should take care that you do not have a weak password or passphrase
and there are guides to that end about how to choose/make a password or
phrase.


--
Mike Easter

[soup]

Mike Easter wrote:

> I am ignoring your issue with a fear of handling YouTube vids.

It is not the vids themselves I am scared of(I have found that as long
as you don't get embroiled in a flame war with some 12 year old in the
comments section they are fairly innocuous), but they (The crack a
password ones) invariably have you download a file, it is these that
get my spider sense tingling.

> WPA is less insecure than WEP, so it is a much better choice for your
> wifi security.

Some of the cracks were for WPA passwords.

> The fact that WPA is also vulnerable to cracking should
> not cause you to think 'it is less than worthless'.

"less than worthless" was a bad choice of phrase "not as secure
as you (TINY) thought" is maybe better.

> You can hide your SSID

I do not transmit my SSID

> You should take care that you do not have a weak password or passphrase
> and there are guides to that end about how to choose/make a password or
> phrase.

Yep, MS recommends at least 7 characters (8 for server software) to
include lower case, upper case, numbers and puctuation (IE P@$$w0rd.). A
lecturer at college had non keyboard characters and all sorts

Anecdote:- My passphrase is something like 50 characters long I had
great fun trying to enter that into my mobile phone with my fat fingers

[soup]

Evan Platt wrote:

> On Sun, 05 Aug 2012 16:10:04 +0100, soup <1...@2.com> wrote:
>
>> Anecdote:- My passphrase is something like 50 characters long I had
>> great fun trying to enter that into my mobile phone with my fat fingers
>

> Copy and paste. Send it to yourself as a text, copy from text, paste
> into password entry :)
>
It's done now (well actually it was 18 months ago), but I will remember
that workaround for next time.

[Bert]

In news:a87eu8...@mid.individual.net Mike Easter <Mi...@ster.invalid>
wrote:

> WPA is less insecure than WEP,

Are you quite sure about that?

--
be...@iphouse.com St. Paul, MN

[soup]

Bert wrote:
> In news:a87eu8...@mid.individual.net Mike Easter <Mi...@ster.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> WPA is less insecure than WEP,
>
> Are you quite sure about that?
>

note insecure not secure

[Bert]

Just did. Less insecure. Cute.

[M.L.]

>The fact that WPA is also vulnerable to cracking should
>not cause you to think 'it is less than worthless'.

It's certainly worthless once it has been breached by hackers.

>You can hide your SSID and also make sure that the selected SSID does
>not appear in the list of top 1000 SSIDs which are used by some
>downloadable rainbow tables .

Hiding SSIDs is of no concern to modern WiFi intrusion techniques.

>You should take care that you do not have a weak password or passphrase
>and there are guides to that end about how to choose/make a password or
>phrase.

If you don't live next door to a college, university or in a yuppie
area, and you are not a political activist, you might as well use WEP.
Otherwise use WPA and keep your fingers crossed.

[soup]

M.L. wrote:

>
> If you don't live <snip> in a yuppie area, <snip> you might as well use WEP.

What has living in a yuppie area got to do with wireless security?

[Jordon]

Nothing, but it has everything to do with neighbors. If you're living
in a retirement community the chances that your neighbors are trying
to break into your router are about zero.

[M.L.]

Yuppies tend to be digitally adventurous and live in areas saturated
with WiFi. Crackers follow their scent.

[soup]

Jordon wrote:
> soup wrote:
>> M.L. wrote:
>>> If you don't live <snip> in a yuppie area, <snip> you might as
>>> well use WEP.
>> What has living in a yuppie area got to do with wireless
>> security?

> If you're living in a retirement community

..and the"Y" in yuppie stands for?
Hint:- it is not, Old.

[Jordon]

Thank you for that Mr. Obvious.

Living around yuppies = living around young people = living around
tech savvy people = the need for stronger security.

Living around old people = living around low tech people = less need
for strong security.

Comprehension problems?

[Mike Yetto]

Jordon <seatt...@REMOVE-THISmail.com> writes and having writ moves on.

What I see is a stereotyping problem as well as a false
dichotomy.

Mike "prejudice <> logical conclusion" Yetto
--
In theory, theory and practice are the same.
In practice they are not.

[Jordon]

There's a reason people put multiple dead bolts on their doors in
East LA but use only one in Bel Air.

[soup]

Jordon wrote:

> Living around yuppies = living around young people = living around
> tech savvy people = the need for stronger security.
>
> Living around old people = living around low tech people = less need
> for strong security.
>
> Comprehension problems?
>

Nope but the original statement was If you don't live <snip>
in a YUPPIE area, <snip> you might as >>>>> well use WEP.

Having problems separating "Retirement community" and "yuppie area"?

[Jordon]

ML said...

If you don't live next door to a college, university or in a yuppie
area, and you are not a political activist, you might as well use
WEP. Otherwise use WPA and keep your fingers crossed.

You said...

What has living in a yuppie area got to do with wireless security?

It looks like you can't understand the idea that a specific location
might be populated with more tech savvy people than another location
and your choice of security could be tied to where you live.

WEP is easier to crack than WPA. If I lived in the middle of the
fucking desert with no neighbors I might not even use any security.

Is it that difficult?

[soup]

Jordon wrote:

> a specific location
> might be populated with more tech savvy people than another location
> and your choice of security could be tied to where you live.

No need to swear.
The original phrase used was Y.U.P.P.I.E. you were the one who brought
"retirement community" into it. Why could you not have "said" ^that^
phrase initially?

[soup]

Bucky Breeder wrote:

> Just because the local "retirement community" is all
> on the government issued welfare mail order monthly
> ration of generic geriatric diapers and so fat and lazy
> as to occupy those Walmart handicrapper carts is really
> no valid reason to call them names or to insensitively
> and publically SPNAK them for being dredges on the
> hard-working tax-paying Americans and corporations!
>
> For the shames on you! tsk-tsk-tsk...
>
> Perhaps they only ACT THAT WAY for the parking spots...
> Have you even thought of that?
>
> Now repent!
>
What are you on about?
I never mentioned diapers or Walmart are you perhaps on some
sort of personal crusade which I have no idea of?

By the way I am not a tax paying American .

[Jordon]

Stop concentrating on the words yuppy and retirement community and
start concentrating on the content of the message. I never tried to
equate the two. I only contrasted two demographics in relation to
WiFi security.

[Jordon]

You would be wise to put Bucky inBreeder in the bozo bin. He is on a
personal crusade, but no one has figured out what that is.