. . . Mike, what are the real dangers of someone hitching a ride on my wireless network. . . . is it something that's going to affect my home computers, and what I do, or is it more a matter of them using my network to send out kiddie porn & Spam. . . . . is this something where the feds could show up at my door accusing me of downloading "bad" material, when in fact it was a hitchiker? Or, could someone use my wireless network to access my computer and raid all my files? Personally, if my next door neighbor is using my wireless just to surf the net, and save a few bucks, I'm not concerned, but if it really could compromise my privacy, I may rethink my current wireless setup. . .

Seth,

It's everything you've already mentioned. If someone uses your wireless network in a criminal act at a minimum your ISP will close your account for a TOS violation. If it gets escalated beyond that the investigating authority would likely need to find evidence on your computer. If the MAC address of the offending computer was recorded then it would not match yours (yes this can be cracked as well) so you would be in good shape. If you’re going to run your wireless network open then you must move a perimeter to the individual PC and use and configure a firewall on every PC and follow all best security practices associated with a PC which you should do anyway.

Thanks Mike, you are very helpful. . .

Not to mention the fact that bandwidth would be reduced.

I'm puzzled why people in this day and age have wireless. In the mid-90's I toyed with it and without encryption it's a joke, now it's readily available and anybody that's handy with a computer can run all over unsuspecting users. To me...it's not an option. The negatives far outweigh the positives.

Metropolitian "hot-zones" are being set up and it's apparent that the hackers/crackers/phreakers will have a free playground to roam at taxpayers expense.

I realize most people here are using wireless so they can get their laptop to work out on their deck while enjoying a cigar, but for the love of Pete PLEASE take the time, effort and money to do it right and keep you and your home secure.

A lot of good info on this thread. However, I would not let the fears/dangers of wireless networking stop you from enjoying the benefits. I would hesitate to use it for a business, but I do use it in my apartment. I think wireless networking is perfect for home use. When you cant snake Cat 5 wire through your house/apt, wireless is the most logical solution.

Just some random thoughts:

1. If someone is going to hack into your home network/computer, it is much more likely to come from the internet than from the high school kid next door.

2. If your home network/computer is hacked, it is probably because you didnt protect yourself (weak passwords, virus prot, firewall, latest security updates, turn off SSID broadcast, MAC filtering, etc) or you are doing things on the net that you shouldnt be (installing suspect software, surfing tons of nudie sites, opening & replying to all your spam e-mail, etc).

3. If you are concerned enough to use encryption on your wirelss network, consider WPA encryption instead of WEP. WEP is sort of old-school. WPA is newer technology and will offer you better encryption rates, the ability to rotate encryption keys on a set schedule, etc. Almost all new routers allow you to choose between WEP and WPA. Some old routers will let you upgrade to WPA through firmware upgrades. Understand that if you are using 128-bit encryption for your wireless network, that is similar to the encryption that you are using when you send your credit card info over the net when you buy stuff. Keep your fears in perspective.

4. If you are going to set up a wireless network, I assume you will go with the 'G' technology. If so, you will notice little bandwidth loss under normal use (even if using encryption). Plus, almost all wireless routers come with wired switched ports. So, the PCs closest to the router can still enjoy a wired connection. I have a wired PC and wired Linux server. I also have a wireless laptop. The laptop is used mostly to surf the web. I can honestly say that there is no noticeable difference between the wired or wireless connections when surfing the web. I also do audio streaming (music jukebox) from the Linux server. There is also no noticeable difference between the wired and wireless connections with that either.

5. Understanding that your most dangerous network connection comes from your connection to the Internet, most routers and firewalls can automatically disconnect your Inernet connection during certain times of the day. For example, if your house is empty when you are at work, you may be able to set your router to shut off the internet connection during this time. It can turn back on 15 min before you come home from work. Same for the wireless connection. You can also set it to shut off at certain times of the day. Limiting the amount of time that your network is 'connected' can help reduce your risk.


So, in general, there is nothing inherintly wrong with wireless or wired networking technologies. You just have to understand the risks and take the proper precautions to protect yourself. Unless someone REALLY wants into your system, they wont waste their time and computing power trying to hack into a secured one. There are too many unprotected ones out there that can be hacked in minutes.