Re: OT: Zone Alarm

[J R FOX jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

--- flash  wrote:

> ≪Just because it was attached, I immediately saw
> about 8 nearby
> routers...≫
>
> Welcome to the world of war driving.
>
> wireless sniffer
> software discovering open WLANs, decrypting their
> passwords, and then
> publishing the details (including GPS coordinates)
> on the web. Even AES
> encryption can be cracked, given sufficient time and
> CPU power.


Hi Flash,

Right. I had heard that 128bit WEP was a joke, but I
didn't know _that_. I'm the first to admit I don't
know enough about this subject . . . which is a major
reason I've resisted going wireless at home.

> Whenever any member of the war driving forum happens
> to be in your
> neighborhood, all he has to do is log on to your
> WLAN, using the details
> he downloaded from the hackers' web site, and then
> he can use your WLAN
> connection to do whatever he wants. For example,
> download kiddie porn or
> 'how to make an a-bomb with household chemicals'.
> Homeland security
> agents will be knocking on your door, not the
> hacker's, and the burden
> of proof is on you that it wasn't your pc that
> downloaded the forbidden
> stuff. You can explain that after they have carted
> off all your pc
> hardware and CD ROMs for investigation.

You know, I halfway suspected that Robert (or someone)
might step in to say "Never happen", but no such luck,
apparently. I thought that getting free broadband
from an unsuspecting neighbor, instead of shelling out
the 40 bucks a month, would likely be the *least* of
these problems, and it seems you are confirming this.
If someone really can do crime on your dime, all the
while leaving a false trail of breadcrumbs to your
door, I think I'll stay wired -- at least where I have
some control over the decision. 

But that is not everywhere I use one of my computers,
so I hope ZA or the one Manuel recommended will fill
in the gap. If I ever get wireless working on the
OS/2 side (there the problem has more to do with
driver support for recent chipsets), concern about
anyone getting at my computer would be close to nil,
but the integrity-of-the-WLAN issue would remain.

> I'm running ZA 5.5.094

Thanks for the recommendation.

While I have you here, let me ask a couple other
things. If someone is "ghosting" along on your
wireless broadband (even just for the free ride),
would you even be aware of their presence ? Or would
you specifically have to be running some kind of
network monitoring software ?


 Jordan