@Brent: "Any wireless network security experts here ?
Lets say you go to starbucks and access their wireless network from your 
laptop and browse the web.
How difficult would it be for the big brother to illegally snoop into 
starbucks network and find out what you are browsing ?
I know big brother can do it LEGALLY very easily but my question is how 
difficult is it to do it ILLEGALLY if they want to ?
If the wireless network doesnt have WEP security set up, would it be easy 
for the big brother to illegally tap into anybodys wireless network and 
install bugging software ?"
    @nor: "-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
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 > Any wireless network security experts here ?
 >
 > Lets say you go to Starbucks and access their wireless network from your
 > laptop and browse the web.
 >
 > How difficult would it be for the big brother to illegally snoop into
 > Starbucks network and find out what you are browsing ?
 >
 > I know big brother can do it LEGALLY very easily but my question is how
 > difficult is it to do it ILLEGALLY if they want to ?
 >
 > If the wireless network doesn't have WEP security set up, would it be 
easy
 >  for the big brother to illegally tap into any body's wireless 
network and
 > install bugging software ?
 >
 >
 >
The connections you get at Starbucks, Barnes & Knoble, etc. are configured
to prevent or at least, hamper hacking. Most charge now and the Starbucks
IT dept. isn't the ones setting things up. Usually, it is a third party
vendor. In the Seattle area, they all use T-Mobile. (Even McDonalds uses
it)
The method they use is, there is a Unix/Linux workstation between the
router and the Internet. When you access the WiFi, you get the default
login web page from the Linux/Unix web server. Until you log in, you don't
have Internet access.
On top of all this, most users are clueless and Microsoft by default
enables Windows firewall so you wouldn't be able to browse the computers
around you unless the user disabled the firewall service. Now throw in the
McAfee firewall, Norton, etc. that comes with a one year subscription on
most "store bought" computers and it becomes very donnastephens@example.org.
Here in the Seattle area, I've looked at a large number of open networks,
one of the phone companies offer DSL and by default wireless is enabled and
open so even in my neighborhood I have 4 signals I can connect to but alas,
not a single one of them has ever shown me a computer other than my own due
to XP's default security.
There is a cable installer up the street who has a nice network with
several PC's and sharing set up but he's smart enough to do that so he is
smart enough to WEP enable his network. Same at my house, I have the skill
set to set up a decent network which means I have the skill set to properly
secure my network.
Now back to the original question, if big brother wanted to and Starbucks
approved it, they could just install a packet sniffer on the Unix/Linux box
between the WAP and the Internet but it would need to be done at every
location. Also, there are programs freely available now to allow one to
crack the WEP encryption algorithm so it isn't too hard to imagine the
government doing similar activities.
Just my two cents on this.
Ron
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