WIFI snitch: WPA

Showing posts with label WPA. Show all posts

Net Neutrality is dead and your privacy is at risk. Here are 5 VPNs that can help.

yowasuphomeboy 8:55 AM NETWORKING, Protection Cloud, Security, SECURITY-VULNERABILITY, VPN, WIRELESS NETWORK, wireless router, WPA, WPA2

The FCC has spoken and it's official: Net Neutrality is dead.

Mashable's been closely covering this story — you can read everything here — but we'll give you the TL;DR version. The FCC has decided that large internet service providers (ISPs) like Xfinity, Verizon, RCN, and any other company in the game can charge customers premium rates for faster internet access. This decision was also significant in that it set ISPs significantly free from the confines of government oversight, and it is sparking justifiable privacy concerns as deregulation could empower ISPs to peek into our browsing behavior even more than they already do, or worse, sell that data.

If you're one of those people who likes to stock up on canned goods before the first snowflakes even start to fall, all of this change might make you feel a little twitchy. But we're here for you: One way to get some peace of mind is by downloading a virtual private network (VPN) so that what you do online stays between you and your mouse.

A VPN will essentially allow you to access the web with protections that encrypt your data from prying ISP eyes. VPNs can help add a layer of privacy online no matter where you are, which is why they've long been used by people who travel abroad and want to protect personal info (financial or otherwise) while browsing on public Wi-Fi. Journalists working on sensitive stories find VPNs useful, too.

If you're new to the VPN game, then we have a few suggestions — most of which are even on sale.

TunnelBear

According to PC Mag, TunnelBear is a "friendly" VPN option for first-time users due in large part to its "pleasing, approachable design." While it doesn't have P2P, BitTorrent, or any specialized servers, it's worth noting that TunnelBear works with Netflix, which isn't always the case with VPNs.

Save 50% and get a one-year plan to TunnelBear for $4.99 per month.

NordVPN

With more than 2,000 servers around the world and the ability to pay for a subscription in Bitcoin, NordVPN is a PCMag Editor's Choice product with a (rare) 5-star review. "None of the searches or streaming activities that originate within NordVPN's software are logged anywhere on any of NordVPN's servers," says PCMag. "The company maintains no logs of a user's internet path or actions."

Get a two-year plan for just $3.29 per month while NordVPN is on sale.

IPVanish

This high-rated VPN has a bigger suite of advanced features than others, like automatic IP address cycling, and has some 750 servers across 61 countries. CNET lists IPVanish as one of the best VPN services of 2017. A con for IPVanish though is that it's expensive. Good news for you: it's currently on sale.

Save 30% and get a one-year plan for $4.55 per month now.

KeepSolid Unlimited VPN

Though KeepSolid doesn't allow ad blocking, it's one of the most consistently affordable VPNs out there and offers many of the features you'll want: browser extensions, specialized servers, P2P networking, and more. (Read the TechRadar review here.) One of the biggest draws though is KeepSolid's flexible pricing plan, which includes an Infinity Plan for lifetime use that's currently 70% off.

Get unlimited access to KeepSolid VPN for $134.99, or get the one-year professional plan for $3.75 per month.

VyprVPN

PCMag gives VyprVPN 4.5 stars, due in part to its multi-platform and multi-protocol support. According to the review, VyprVPN has hundreds of servers and a great interface, though it covers fewer devices than others on the market. In case you're on the fence, VyprVPN also has the option of a three-day free trial.

Get a one-year subscription to VyprVPN for $5 per month, or get the premium plan for $6.67 per month.

Wi-Fi security may be cracked, and it's a very, very bad thing... Have we said that this is bad?

yowasuphomeboy 9:39 AM CRACK, exploit, hack, SECURITY-VULNERABILITY, TECH, WI-FI, WIRELESS NETWORK, WPA, WPA2

Wi-Fi, the wireless data transfer technology practically all of us use on a daily basis, is in trouble.

The WPA2 security protocol, a widespread standard for Wi-Fi security that's used on nearly every Wi-Fi router, has apparently been cracked.

The details on the security exploit, which is called KRACK, or Key Reinstallation Attacks, are to be released at 8am ET Monday on the site www.krackattacks.com.

But according to a new advisory by US-CERT, via Ars Technica, there are "several key management vulnerabilities" in WPA2, allowing for "decryption, packet replay, TCP connection hijacking, HTTP content injection." The worst part? These are "protocol-level issues," meaning that "most or all correct implementations of the standard will be affected."

We'll know more when the details about KRACK are released, but if it turns out that one can use this exploit in a fairly simple and reliable way, then this is one of the biggest online security threats ever.

To see why, one has to go just a little bit back into the past. Wi-Fi used to be secured with a standard called WEP, which was found to be vulnerable to a multitude of attacks, many of which don't require the attacker to have physical access to the Wi-Fi equipment or even be connected to the network. Over time, tools that make these attacks simple have been developed, and now, if your Wi-Fi is protected by WEP, there's a choice of simple mobile and desktop apps that crack your password in seconds (no matter how long or complicated it is).

Because of these issues, WEP was mostly replaced with WPA and, later, WPA2, which are far more secure. Though there were ways to crack a WPA2-protected Wi-Fi router, if your password was long and complicated enough, it made it a lot harder or nearly impossible to do.

(For completeness' sake, one hacking tool, called Reaver, can crack WPA2-protected routers no matter the password, but it's fairly simple to protect your router — you simply have to turn off a feature called WPS.)

If this latest vulnerability is similar to the way WEP is vulnerable — and it looks like it is at the moment — then it won't matter how strong a password you chose. This would make hundreds of millions of routers out there, used by individuals and businesses alike, open to hackers. It would mean that, if you care about security, you should not use Wi-Fi at all until this is fixed. At the very least, you should use HTTPS connections whenever possible, and a good VPN might add another layer of security.

And fixes for these types of things don't come easy. Some routers will probably get a firmware update, but a lot of home users might not know how to apply it, or be aware that this is a threat. Again, going back to the time when WEP was cracked in 2001, it took years for ISPs to start shipping routers with WPA and WPA2 enabled as default, leaving many customers wide open to attacks.

We'll know more after the announcement today; stay tuned for updates.

WATCH: This guy has 1,500 passwords, and a few tips for staying secure

Why Is Wi-Fi Coverage So Bad in My House, and How Can I Fix It?

yowasuphomeboy 3:21 PM CRACK, exploit, hack, SECURITY-VULNERABILITY, TECH, WI-FI, WIRELESS NETWORK, WPA, WPA2

Wi-Fi Technologies: Emerging Business Models

yowasuphomeboy 3:12 PM CRACK, exploit, hack, SECURITY-VULNERABILITY, TECH, WI-FI, WIRELESS NETWORK, WPA, WPA2

Consumer use of Wi-Fi is on a steep rise. With the coming 5G era, Wi-Fi's role as a core technology in service providers' network strategy will be further strengthened, but it will also face uncertainties as the use of unlicensed spectrums by mobile operators becomes more prevalent.

This industry report provides analysis of Wi-Fi technologies and emerging business models related to public Wi-Fi hotspot services.