Re: Should Wifi routers be required to mandate strong authentication

Knowledge Worker — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:05:27 -0000

"Some security" or "No Security at all"

I would root with "Some Security"

Re: Should Wifi routers be required to mandate strong authentication

Jeff — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:30:23 -0000

A lot of families would probably want to have a nice easy setup before they secure their access points. Many people, including myself, tend to get very frustrated when they have to configure things. We like things to "just work".

Also, some manufacturers have incorporated simple ways to set up secure networks. Ever tried using the "Secure Easy Setup" on Linksys routers? Of course, that happens to be specific to Linksys -- you need their access points + software on other PCs to make it "easy". Most other routers have a Web interface where you can set up WPA with a key. It's simple enough if you have basic computing skill and some luck.

I like the idea of denying Internet-based routing: have a Web-based prompt pop up when the user tries to access a Web site. Once a password is established, you could at least allow only that MAC address to contact the router -- which could stop a lot of hackers. The only reason why it doesn't already exist is ease-of-use, and the fact that this sector of the world is supposedly very computer literate and could set it up themselves anyway.

There are a lot of other positive benefits to automatically configured or mandatory security -- like getting rid of bandwidth-hogging free riders. Here in the university dorms, where there's only wired ethernet, setting up an unsecured access point is a bad idea. The poor souls who don't encrypt discover their connections slow down to a standstill within days, as most students have laptops which automatically connect. Instead of learning the hard way, students could secure their routers in the first place...

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Re: Should Wifi routers be required to mandate strong authentication

Re: Should Wifi routers be required to mandate strong authentication