Comments on: Why Bruce Schneier Having An Open Wi-Fi Network Is No Good Reason For You To http://michaelgracie.com/2008/01/10/why-bruce-schneier-having-an-open-wi-fi-network-is-no-good-reason-for-you-to/ Clever Tagline Unavailable At Publication Time Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:48:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Michael Gracie http://michaelgracie.com/2008/01/10/why-bruce-schneier-having-an-open-wi-fi-network-is-no-good-reason-for-you-to/#comment-5738 Michael Gracie Thu, 17 Jan 2008 23:45:47 +0000 http://michaelgracie.com/2008/01/10/why-bruce-schneier-having-an-open-wi-fi-network-is-no-good-reason-for-you-to/#comment-5738 Not sure I agree on all accounts. Admittedly, WPA/2 is a snap on Macs, and a bit harder on Windows XP. I've seen it myself, as some guests who don't run frequent updates on newer laptops have taken fifteen minutes or more to link up (including getting updated, of course). However, my next door neighbors work from home, and their DSL goes down once in a while. They have my key, and they've never had a problem getting in. They're running XP on corporate managed machines (meaning they are always newer and updated). And they use my connection to get through to their company VPN with no problem at all. Maybe it's more about keeping hardware/software up-to-date than anything else? PS: And yes...WEP is a joke. But it's also a joke to even bother trying to hack through it. Not sure I agree on all accounts.

Admittedly, WPA/2 is a snap on Macs, and a bit harder on Windows XP. I’ve seen it myself, as some guests who don’t run frequent updates on newer laptops have taken fifteen minutes or more to link up (including getting updated, of course). However, my next door neighbors work from home, and their DSL goes down once in a while. They have my key, and they’ve never had a problem getting in. They’re running XP on corporate managed machines (meaning they are always newer and updated). And they use my connection to get through to their company VPN with no problem at all.

Maybe it’s more about keeping hardware/software up-to-date than anything else?

PS: And yes…WEP is a joke. But it’s also a joke to even bother trying to hack through it.

]]> By: Andrew Hammond http://michaelgracie.com/2008/01/10/why-bruce-schneier-having-an-open-wi-fi-network-is-no-good-reason-for-you-to/#comment-5737 Andrew Hammond Thu, 17 Jan 2008 23:30:39 +0000 http://michaelgracie.com/2008/01/10/why-bruce-schneier-having-an-open-wi-fi-network-is-no-good-reason-for-you-to/#comment-5737 Unless you happen to have and host only Macs, WPA is _not_ a minimal effort. It's a pain in the ass. WEP is easy to use, but it's also laughably easy to penetrate. That makes it _worse_ than running unsecured since you no longer can claim to be a common-carrier if it ever becomes a legal issue. Not many people have the technical know how to do it properly by putting up a firewall with a VPN aggregater and then running their WiFi as a hostile network. And that's even _more_ of a pain in the ass for guests. Anyway, if enough people adopt the practice of running open wi-fi spots it makes the world a better place. Unless you happen to have and host only Macs, WPA is _not_ a minimal effort. It’s a pain in the ass. WEP is easy to use, but it’s also laughably easy to penetrate. That makes it _worse_ than running unsecured since you no longer can claim to be a common-carrier if it ever becomes a legal issue. Not many people have the technical know how to do it properly by putting up a firewall with a VPN aggregater and then running their WiFi as a hostile network. And that’s even _more_ of a pain in the ass for guests.

Anyway, if enough people adopt the practice of running open wi-fi spots it makes the world a better place.

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