Wirless Access Point Help

[Zatrix]

ok, i bought a wireless access point (ap) for my psp. its all connected and works great.

whats the problem you ask? well im kinda scared, heres why
i have wep encryption enabled but i dont think its strong. i used a passphrase which for this example we will call it Book (thats not the real pass phrase but im just using it for a example.) anyway i used book as a passphrase and it generated a wep key. i then entered the key into my psp and im on

my worry is that someone could brute force my passphrase "book" and then get my webp key. since all passphrases that are the same generate the same key correct?

im thinking of turining ssid broadcasting off so im invisble to psp leechers and soon to be ds leechers.


but the ONLY thing i have connected to my AP is my psp

my regular comps use my wired router

is there anyway someone could get into my AP and THEN get into my WIRED routers?

anyinfo plz

[Zatrix]

cmon ppl seriously just help me out.

[RedDeathDrinker]

If you set your wireless access point up so it's not broadcasting its SSID, and you use WAP or WEP encryption on your signal, you're safe.

What I'd suggest is this:

# Change the System ID: Devices come with a default system ID called the SSID (Service Set Identifier) or ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier). It is easy for a hacker to find out what the default identifier is for each manufacturer of wireless equipment so you need to change this to something else. Use something unique- not your name or something easily guessed.

# Disable Identifier Broadcasting: Announcing that you have a wireless connection to the world is an invitation for hackers. You already know you have one so you don’t need to broadcast it. Check the manual for your hardware and figure out how to disable broadcasting.

# Enable Encryption: WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encrypt your data so that only the intended recipient is supposed to be able to read it. WEP has many holes and is easily cracked. 128-bit keys impact performance slightly without a significant increase in security so 40-bit (or 64-bit on some equipment) encryption is just as well. As with all security measures there are ways around it, but by using encryption you will keep the casual hackers out of your systems. If possible, you should use WPA encryption (most older equipment can be upgraded to be WPA compatible). WPA fixes the security flaws in WEP but it is still subject to DOS (denial-of-service) attacks.

# Restrict Unnecessary Traffic: Many wired and wireless routers have built-in firewalls. They are not the most technically advanced firewalls, but they help create one more line of defense. Read the manual for your hardware and learn how to configure your router to only allow incoming or outgoing traffic that you have approved.

# Change the Default Administrator Password: This is just good practice for ALL hardware and software. The default passwords are easily obtained and because so many people don’t bother to take the simple step of changing them they are usually what hackers try first. Make sure you change the default password on your wireless router / access point to something that is not easily guessed like your last name.

[klingens]

You need a passphrase which is 128bit strong. It needs to be made 100% random characters so that dictionary attacks are not possible.If those things are given, someone who wants to crack it needs ca. 1 Gigabyte of sniffed data to be able to crack it. In a home setting this will take a typically loooong time, so no real worries.
If someone gains access to your wireless router and your wired routers/machines have a security flaw (and any version of Windows has basically hundreds as we all know), then yes they can get in there as well. Also, if your PSP has internet access through the AP, then of course a successful AP hacker has internet access through it.

[elfiena]

i don't understand why you are worried. even if you don't use a pass phrase at all, the communication channel are still secure. here's why: when you generate a key and enter it into your psp manually, what it does is encrypt the communication according to that key. you shouldn't transmit the key itself over the broadcasted network mind you. but the pass phrase and key should be handled locally, and then use as a reference for network encryption(psst, it doesn't send the pass phrase over to the AP, the mechanism for requesting pass phrase is within the key :D). in order to decrypt your connection, they have to obtain both your key and your pass phrase or brute force calculate the decryption method(formulae) despite of your pass phrase and hope you don't change your key often. i bet your mistake in thinking of pass phrase as one of the user name + password login mechanism between server and clients, which is highly insecure. time for you to read up on cytography eh? :D as for bandwidth stealers... here's what you can do... allow connection by mac address of your psp and disallow everything else. if you find the need to add more wireless devices, add their mac addresses to the allow list. vola, your problems solved :sn:

[Zatrix]

why do i need to change my default passwords?


the only way they can access my ap or router is if they are physically at MY computer

you cant just type in a routers default adress and get into someones elses unless you are AT THERE COMP

correct?

[Zatrix]

bump

[elfiena]

no, there are ways to fool the AP to think the intruder is sending request from your computer. so better change them passwords :D

[gigahertz]

enable MAC filters

My AP is set up with WEP 128 key and MAC filters