Is WPA encryption really better than WEP?

[AlanHK]

You seemed to completely miss the point...

Unless it was "Security is nothing...if someone is motivated enough to get it, they will..." which was clear enough.

The rest of the story didn't make much sense to me though, which is what I commented on.

[minidv2dvd]

You didn't try Kismet, did you?
Here's a tutorial to get you started: http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3595531

It would take a "determined hacker" two minutes.

You gain nothing over simply using a strong WPA password.
You can hide from people who aren't a threat anyway -- as you say, all you've done is make it hard for legitimate users to log on.

there are no legitimate users unless i allow them and the ones who can't figure it out by themselves i can hook up. most of the time no one is logged on the wifi. with no one on, it doesn't transmit anything, all it does is listen. i admit if there were traffic, it may not take long to find it. but, then they'd have to get through the other protections. my logs don't show any users i didn't allow.

[Video Head]

You seemed to completely miss the point...

Unless it was "Security is nothing...if someone is motivated enough to get it, they will..." which was clear enough.

The rest of the story didn't make much sense to me though, which is what I commented on.

Exactly. It was not meant to make sense to you. You live in Hong Kong. You do not have a vehicle. The analogy was intended to be foreign. As is setting-up the security on a residential wireless router to the OP. We were mearly providing the OP with the knowledge necessary to configure a reasonable level of security. You brought forth no solutions, just cynical criticism.

Good day.

[AlanHK]

Exactly. It was not meant to make sense to you. You live in Hong Kong. You do not have a vehicle. The analogy was intended to be foreign. As is setting-up the security on a residential wireless router to the OP. We were mearly providing the OP with the knowledge necessary to configure a reasonable level of security. You brought forth no solutions, just cynical criticism.

Good day.

Still not getting your point: "It was meant to be foreign"?
And while not at having a car here, the concept is not "foreign" to me. Just your story had no basis in reality.
I suggest just saying what you mean rather than giving extended fables.

And as for the pompous "We were mearly providing the OP with the knowledge.... You brought forth no solutions, just cynical criticism", well, not true and offensive. I said that a good WPA password was a more than reasonable level of security, while pointing out that messing around with the SSID is just a waste of time, causing hassles to normal software, while not impeding hackers. Sorry if hearing that damages anyone's self esteem.
Actually, in security matters, you really should cultivate a cynical and critical frame of mind.

[AlanHK]

most of the time no one is logged on the wifi. with no one on, it doesn't transmit anything, all it does is listen. i admit if there were traffic, it may not take long to find it. but, then they'd have to get through the other protections. my logs don't show any users i didn't allow.

Well, the security on my home setup is actually crappy, a very old 802.11b access point that only has WEP. But it's semi-rural, I only have two or three neighbours in range and know them personally.
I just turn off the access point except when I'm running a laptop.
Though I'm pretty sure that a hacker couldn't get into my router via wifi.

I would upgrade and harden this if I was, say on a main street or a campus.

I know the risks I'm running, I just wanted to be sure you did.