[CLUE-Tech] my neighbor has an access point

[Sean LeBlanc]

On 11-24 06:53, Mike Miller wrote:
> I can't help you on setting the affinity for your basestation, but I CAN
> help on general WiFi security stuff:
> 
> IF the laptop has a compatibile chipset (I think there are, like, two
> major flavors), and can boot into a wintel OS, head on over to
> www.netstumbler.org and check out netstumbler. I can set the card into a
> promiscuous mode and give you a GREAT feel for what's unprotected in
> your area. (If you've got a GPS unit, it'll evenadd the locations that
> the sites correspond to.)
> 
> On the U*ix end of things, there's Airsnort http://airsnort.shmoo.com/
> Not having used it, I _think_ it's more used for cracking WEP
> passphrases once you know what the target network is called. 
> 'Recovering lost keys' in PC whitehat hackerspeak. :P
> 
> Make sure you're running 128 bit WEP, change the code occasionally,
> change your SSID to something non-default, and this is the big one: Shut
> off SSID broadcast!
> 
> SSID broadcast is what netstumbler uses to find you...if the basestation
> doesn't tell the world who it is, it makes it that much harder to find
> it. I suspect a person COULD hack the network, but they'd have to me
> much more persistent, and you've already shown there are jucier targets
> in the neighborhood.
> 
> Mike "Off to go futz with Airsnort!" Miller

Well, I (briefly)saw kismet (http://www.kismetwireless.net/) for the first
time last week at the study group, and after the message on here about
neighbors, I thought I'd fire up the equivalent on BSD - bsd-airtools. I ran
dstumbler, and lo and behold, there's another SSID that I can see in certain
parts of the house. 

I'm going to do some more "stumbling" outside the house when there isn't
snow on the ground, and see if I can figure out where it's coming from...I'm
guessing it's from across the street, but I'm not 100%. I also need to see
if I can stumble through setting up IPSec. I can't see the other SSID when
I'm standing next to my WAP, but that doesn't mean they can't see the WAP
from where they are.

BTW: why on EARTH would WAPs be set up to broadcast the SSID by default? I didn't
realize it could be turned off. I'm off to find out how to do that...

Cheers,

-- 
Sean LeBlanc:seanleblanc at americanisp.net  
http://users.americanisp.net/~seanleblanc/
Get MLAC at: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mlac/
I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! The answer 
is twelve? I think I'm in the wrong building. 
-Charles Schulz