wpa security cracked??

delllat

I have had dial up speeds on my 3 meg eircom broadband this afternoon and when i ran a speedtest the result was also dial up like

so i investigated further and found out there was another unidentified computer on the network

i have wpa enabled but chose the password of 123456789 for easy to remember

as soon as i changed the password to 1234567891011121314151617181920 (temporarily) i tested my speeds again and i was getting the full 3 meg again so whoever it was was downloading a serious amounnt of shict on my connection

my router is in the hall of the apartment block i live in because thats the only place the phone line is and so other neighbours could probably tamper with it it if they wanted but i thought it was secure and i changed the ssid as well when i installed it

does anybody know how this could have been possible?

is there anyway to limiit access to the network to the 3 laptops only which are supposed to be on it?

ethernet

That sequence of numbers isn't the best password. Have a look here for something more cryptic. If the router is easily accessible by other people in the block, it's very easy to get the password. Connect a laptop by ethernet cable, copy the password (often in clear text on routers). The best thing would be to relocate your router or somehow lock it away from prying eyes!

youcancallmeal

What kind of router is it?
On my d-link router I can go to the DHCP settings and it tells you which machines last connected.

delllat

eircom netopia,their most modern one id imagine since i only got it off them 2 weeks ago

unfortunately the router must stay in the hallway as moving it would be very troublesome

i think il limit access by mac address and also choose a stronger password

where in the settings can u find the list of all computers who have been connected to the network?

id like to see if its being used by more than one person

larryone

The matter of physical access is still a problem in this case.
No matter what you do in terms of limiting MAC addresses, etc, the reset button is still available to anyone who wants to tamper with your router.
Relocating it might be difficult, other option might be to find someone who's handy with a bench vice and a hacksaw, and make a lockable case that will only allow power and uplink cables to get in.
Or maybe you could find a lockable plastic case that fits approximately and drill a hole or two...

SouperComputer

Like larryone said, it sounds like someone is resetting the router. you could put it in a box, or, cut the swicth off the board. If you need to reset it in the future you can just short the pins.

MAC address filtering is borderline pointless. Its trivial to find a valid mac address on a network and clone it.

Setup a decent WPA key using the generator above or: http://www.kurtm.net/wpa-pskgen/

Thats about it.

Baneblade

if its in a public area then you should place a password on it so only you can access it.

in expert mode got to configure -> connection -> router password

while it is still possible to get around it, its better then not having it. and at the very least you will be able to tell if someone is tampering with the modem

probe

SouperComputer wrote: »

Like larryone said, it sounds like someone is resetting the router. you could put it in a box, or, cut the swicth off the board. If you need to reset it in the future you can just short the pins.

MAC address filtering is borderline pointless. Its trivial to find a valid mac address on a network and clone it.

Setup a decent WPA key using the generator above or: http://www.kurtm.net/wpa-pskgen/

Thats about it.

Or Steve Gibson's perfect password generator, which no doubt has the most randomly perfect system conceivable - this guy puts a lot of thought into everything he does. It operates over an https connection - just copy and paste it into the set-up at both ends. If your "neighbour" manages to break one of these, wpa "security" would appear to have been cracked!

Security is only as good as your password. WPA is ideal for complex passwords because you never have to enter them manually or remember them.

https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm

Sample password: [FONT=courier new,courier]
2mFfR4cGgjbD%3T_+F'4%Hz#jsvub|UvL7]#5LJ,QHy:;D^~r{Om0I&TK~TZ>;

.probe

probe

Steve Gibson's latest security netcast is here:

Listen: http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/aolradio.podcast.aol.com/sn/SN-152.mp3

Steve has news on security vulnerabilities in accounting software, the Opera browser (time to update to 9.51 if you use it), and lots of feedback from listeners - including several covering ISP snooping.

.probe

Other tech programmes to listen to at www.twit.tv - Leo does about 10 shows per week on this site (counting GizWiz daily as a single show because they record the entire week's output in one sitting). They have so many viewers watching the shows being made live, that when they mention a website, it often goes down within a minute or so after the mention - it gets hit with so much traffic!