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Warning: Why You Shouldn’t Use MAC Address Filtering On Your Wi-Fi Router

Discussion in 'Windows - Virus and spyware problems' started by ireland, Dec 8, 2014.

  1. ireland

    ireland Active member

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    Warning: Encrypted WPA2 Wi-Fi Networks Are Still Vulnerable to Snooping
    By now, most people know that an open Wi-Fi network allows people to eavesdrop on your traffic. Standard WPA2-PSK encryption is supposed to prevent this from happening — but it’s not as foolproof as you might think.

    This isn’t huge breaking news about a new security flaw. Rather, this is the way WPA2-PSK has always been implemented. But it’s something most people don’t know.

    Open Wi-Fi Networks vs. Encrypted Wi-Fi Networks

    You shouldn’t host an open Wi-Fi network at home, but you may find yourself using one in public — for example, at a coffee shop, while passing through an airport, or in a hotel. Open Wi-Fi networks have no encryption, which means everything sent over the air is “in the clear.” People can monitor your browsing activity, and any web activity that isn’t secured with encryption itself can be snooped on. Yes, this is even true if you have to “log in” with a username and password on a web page after signing in to the open Wi-Fi network.

    Encryption — like the WPA2-PSK encryption we recommend you use at home — fixes this somewhat. Someone nearby can’t just simply capture your traffic and snoop on you. They’ll get a bunch of encrypted traffic. This means that an encrypted Wi-Fi network protects your private traffic from being snooped on.

    This is kind of true — but there’s a big weakness here.

    GO HERE TO READ MORE
    http://www.howtogeek.com/204335/war...fi-networks-are-still-vulnerable-to-snooping/
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 8, 2014
  2. xboxdvl2

    xboxdvl2 Regular member

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    people spy on you anyway??????hackers can break encryptions anyway??
    The government legally spies on you & records your data????police can moniter your phonecalls???businesses put up cameras everywhere????
     
  3. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

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    even the old mam upstairs nevermind the old man at the northpole with the red & white suit spies on everybody.
     
  4. ireland

    ireland Active member

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    Why You Shouldn’t Use MAC Address Filtering On Your Wi-Fi Router

    MAC address filtering allows you to define a list of devices and only allow those devices on your Wi-Fi network. That’s the theory, anyway. In practice, this protection is tedious to set up and easy to breach.

    This is one of the Wi-Fi router features that will give you a false sense of security. Just using WPA2 encryption is enough. Some people like using MAC address filtering, but it’s not a security feature.

    How MAC Address Filtering Works
    Each device you own comes with a unique media access control address (MAC address) that identifies it on a network. Normally, a router allows any device to connect — as long as it knows the appropriate passphrase. With MAC address filtering a router will first compare a device’s MAC address against an approved list of MAC addresses and only allow a device onto the Wi-Fi network if its MAC address has been specifically approved.

    Your router probably allows you to configure a list of allowed MAC addresses in its web interface, allowing you to choose which devices can connect to your network.





    read more


    http://www.howtogeek.com/204458/why-you-shouldn’t-use-mac-address-filtering-on-your-wi-fi-router/
     
  5. omendata

    omendata Regular member

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    Mac address filtering whilst easy to snafu , it is useful though as its the only way to get WOL over the internet working and ip addresses given to the right devices to allow you to do what you want quickly - Mainly for the geeks amongst us who know all their ip addresses...cough cough....

    Its only of real concern in a public environment but then again i know people who have been scanning their neighbours networks to break them for months for free internet. Amazing how many people who think because its WPA2/PSK that a password like Password123, their name , pet etc is safer.

    If the need is there, there is a will and a way.

    Nice article nevertheless.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2014

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