Are there 'any' security (privacy) issues with an AP near yourhouse?

My neighbor yesterday was approached by a WISP who asked to put a 2.4Ghz
802.11n access point very close to my property, pointed over my property.

I have no qualms about what they do - but that got me thinking.

QUESTION: If you have an access point very nearby ... does that allow
them to 'see' your signals more easily?

That is, does that allow them to 'spy' on your activity, even though you
are not connected to their access point?

Martin C. (for it is he) wrote:

> QUESTION: If you have an access point very nearby ... does that allow
> them to 'see' your signals more easily?
>
> That is, does that allow them to 'spy' on your activity, even though you
> are not connected to their access point?

Being closer to you makes it easier to pick up any signals you may be
emitting. You would have to be pretty paranoid to assume that's what they
actually want to do, however.

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On Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:44:07 +0100, alexd wrote:

> Being closer to you makes it easier to pick up any signals you may be
> emitting.

Would that work this way?

a) They log into their radio which is attached to their antenna.
b) They lock onto any packets associated with your MAC address
c) They store those packets and analyze later ...

On 3/31/2012 12:54 PM, Martin C. wrote:
> On Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:44:07 +0100, alexd wrote:
>
>> Being closer to you makes it easier to pick up any signals you may be
>> emitting.
>
> Would that work this way?
>
> a) They log into their radio which is attached to their antenna.
> b) They lock onto any packets associated with your MAC address
> c) They store those packets and analyze later ...

There isn't much to analyze if you are using https and ssl for email.
But every person has the same problem. I would assume the WISP wants to
make money. The real problem is hackers. I suppose they can look at IP
addresses and check your **** activity or whatever.

I think everyone should have a copy of kismet and wireshark, and just
look at their own wifi from time to time, certainly when you get new gear.

I would assume the WISP is going to blast to smithereens whatever
frequency(or plural) they use, so you may get more interference. That
would be what annoys me.

In the last episode of <jl852o$21f$1@speranza.aioe.org>, miso
<miso@sushi.com> said:

>On 3/31/2012 12:54 PM, Martin C. wrote:
>> On Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:44:07 +0100, alexd wrote:
>>
>>> Being closer to you makes it easier to pick up any signals you may be
>>> emitting.
>>
>> Would that work this way?
>>
>> a) They log into their radio which is attached to their antenna.
>> b) They lock onto any packets associated with your MAC address
>> c) They store those packets and analyze later ...
>
>There isn't much to analyze if you are using https and ssl for email.
>But every person has the same problem. I would assume the WISP wants to
>make money. The real problem is hackers. I suppose they can look at IP
>addresses and check your **** activity or whatever.

Assuming we're not talking about hiding from one's own ISP, all of this
can be avoided by using security at the network layer. WPA2 with a
strong key seems to be sufficient these days, although the paranoid
among us will tunnel everything through a VPN within the WPA2
connection.

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On Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:23:03 -0700, DevilsPGD wrote:

> the paranoid among us will tunnel everything
> through a VPN within the WPA2 connection.

I haven't used VPN yet.

Would that require an add on?

In the last episode of <jldlnj$rp2$3@speranza.aioe.org>, "Martin C."
<martincella3ca@nospam-gmail.com> said:

>On Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:23:03 -0700, DevilsPGD wrote:
>
>> the paranoid among us will tunnel everything
>> through a VPN within the WPA2 connection.
>
>I haven't used VPN yet.
>
>Would that require an add on?

That depends on the type of VPN, and your router/firewall/network
capabilities. I used to just use PPTP because it's built-in with
Windows.

Today I'm using OpenVPN which is a third party software package because
it's a ton more flexible and I need multiple VPN connections open (one
to my internal network, one to work) and it's easier to work out the
routing weirdness.

Not all routers can act as VPN endpoints though, but if you're paranoid
about WPA2, you'll take this into account on the next one you buy/build.

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