Protection for Your Wi-Fi Network
Posted by Narasu Rebbapragada | Friday, August 12, 2005 5:20 PM PT
Home and small business users can get a little extra help beefing up the security on their wireless networks when
McAfee releases its Wireless Home Network Security product on Monday.
Update (August 15): McAfee has delayed release of this product until next week.
The standalone five-license version will cost $50 and will be first made available on McAfee's Web site. Do you need this product? I don't know. We haven't tested it yet. But here's what it does and doesn't offer.
McAfee Wireless Home Network Security can help you set up strong 26-character hexadecimal encryption key to protect the data flowing across your network. It can rotate the encryption key (by default every three hours) to trip up hackers dead set on guessing your code.
It lets you specify which devices should have access to your network and prevents unauthorized users from logging on. It can also help you detect evil twins, which are networks that look and act like your trusted Wi-Fi network in an attempt to lure you onto them for whatever nefarious reason.
Here's what this product can't do. It can't increase the level of security provided by all the devices on your network. You also can't use the rotating encryption key feature unless all the devices on your network are PCs running Windows XP 2000, ME, or 98SE. There's no support yet for Macs and media devices like TiVos and Xboxes.
So who needs this? Not you, if you're diligent enough to set and rotate your own strong encryption. However, if potential Wi-Fi threats freak you out and you have no time to learn more about fighting them, then this product might help you out. FYI,
Interlink Network's LucidLink is a similar security front end that's free for up to three users.
If you have any thoughts on Wi-Fi security, let us know.
your link to interlink is BAD!
Of course, this is only common sense: Update your router's firmware every month. And, for the really paranoid, buy a new router every 1 or 1.5 years.
McAfee has been notorious for its lack of Mac and Linux support. Everyone should avoid them until they support those OSes.
What's a Mac?
Are you pulling my leg? You don't know what a Mac is? Where have you been.
Hey anonymous I think Bill Williams is just trolling for a byte ;)
However if Bill Williams did just post a serious question. The answer is a 'Mac' is short for Macintosh Computer. Which runs Apple's own operating system with the latest version known as 10.4 or (Tiger) and also refered to as OS X. It is known as OS X because it is the 10th (Roman numeral 'X') version of the operating system and also because it is built using the BSD version of Unix. Now either that helped answer the question or I have just made a fool of myself... will have to wait and see.
I honestly don't understand why everyone goes so much further than MAC Address Filtering for security. I've just set my router to only permit those devices whose MAC Address I've listed, thus blocking all unwanted devices. This seems to work well for me, any comments?
Ah Anonymous, that would be Mac Address Filtering as MAC is a 3 letter acronym which has nothing to do with the computer.
Well, Anonymous, MAC address filtering is fine, but WiFi hackers can analyze your datastream and decrypt what MAC addresses are being used for the WiFi. Then, all they have to do is use the right driver software to emulate your allowed MAC, and send an attack that will blow your device's IP address out of the water, allowing them to connect using your MAC and a new IP, or the same one. Then they loot and pillage. :(
I haven't been able to find any information on this - has anyone else found any other sources for this story? I am just trying to find out more information and I don't even see anything on their website.
i never got my issues. Please let me know the status.
like all technologies, nothing is 100% secure. If you use the product, you are taking a risk. To reduce your risk you can prevent the wlan from broadcasting it's name, set your encryption level to max 256, use numbers & letters mix them up. Use mac filters & have a reliable firewall. You could also install a wlan monitoring tool to monitor your wlan to see who is login.
MAC address filtering will only keep out the most casual peekers. If you right-click on My Computer and select Properties, click on hardware, select your network card, select advanced, go to locally assigned MAC address, you can set your own MAC address.
MAC addresses are broadcast without encryption, so it's very easy for anyone to clone a MAC address and gain access to a wireless network if that is the only level of security.
So is there anything out there for Mac users?
This product changes security only for the router and PCs on your network. What about other wireless peripherals? Your wireless printers and home entertainment devices like Tivo will quit working as they will have the old WPA pass phrase or WEP key. Not so great. What's McAfee doing about that?
Try the lucidlink and see how it works. I've used the free client at work for several users, and it has worked almost flawlessly everytime. The free 3 user software provides a neat server/client software that will rotate encryption fast enough for hackers to not ever to be able to decode the key in time before it rotates again. The only downfall is you have to have a dedicated machine on all the time. But it works well. Of course, there is no true 1000% security to WiFi. Only land line networking is truly secure from transmission interception. But hey, everybody takes a risk getting in their car everyday, and to most WiFi is probably worth the risk as well.
Oh, and to the last anonymous lister, If I remember correctly, Lucidlink supports both WPA and WEP based clients. Of course, if WEP is used, someone can still try to hack in, but the server/client software should stop them since they wouldn't be authenticated to it.
LucidLink does work for both WPA and WEP Encrypted networks, but unlike traditional wep, you still have the authentication front end and you are still getting a unique WEP key for every user for every session.
As for not supporting, non WinOS, hold your horses, support is on teh way.
Any way any hacker can crack on a wireless network in less than 10 minutes.. It is kind of easy for a hackers to hack Wi-FI.. Im tell you..... guess who is saying this.........