Baslinux mailing list

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On Thu, Jun 28, 2007 at 06:16:11AM +1200, Steven wrote:
> 
> Don't https/ssl wireless connections work just as well?

I don't know. Do they? As a practical example, if your browser does https/ssl 
and you are on an unencrypted wireless 
network, would you say that there is no heightened risk involved in doing 
finanacial transactions at secure sites 
(e.g., banks, retailers) as opposed to doing the same thing over a wired 
network? I'm not trying to argue, but to 
understand better.

> The most important reason to secure the radio connection
> is to stop interlopers getting access to your network and 
> leeching bandwidth.  There is also some benefit in making
> it more difficult for hackers to get into your system.
> However, I fail to see why it is significantly more 
> dangerous to expose your system to an unencrypted wireless 
> network than it is to expose it to the internet.  Security
> comes from firewalls, secure operating systems and ssl.

I understand what you're saying. But rather than discuss security in the 
abstract, let's get into some concrete 
scenarios. How do you plan to set up your wireless LAN? With 128-bit WEP? 
With MAC filtering? Will you have a dhcp 
server enabled? I'm looking for ways to secure my LAN better. Earlier, I 
decided that 128-bit WEP, MAC filtering, and a 
logging firewall (that logged dhcp requests and showed connected-client info) 
was good enough. I now have doubts based 
on some things I read. So, what is the "good enough" wireless security 
profile for Steven Darnold? Based on what you've 
said, here's my guess: 128-bit WEP, MAC filtering, manual IP assignment 
(within a very restricted, hard-to-guess range, 
i.e., no dhcp). Did I guess right? Anything I missed?

Please let me know. I can use all the help I can get securing better my 
wireless LAN.

James