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Or maybe not invisible
Authored by: sjonke on Jul 02, '02 10:43:48AM

Way back when I created a so-called closed network and then discovered that while Apple's software couldn't see it, the freeware java program Aiport Configurator could see the network just fine. It had a "discover networks" or "find networks" or something like that somewhere in the program and it listed my supposedly closed network. Maybe this was a bug that was fixed later, but still I don't think I'd rely on a closed network making it secure. Use 128-bit encryption regardless.



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Re: Or maybe not invisible
Authored by: korben on Jul 02, '02 03:05:44PM

The airport admin utility doesn't use the same method to discover access points, and I assume the java configurator works the same way as Apple's utility. It sends ouit broadcast udp packets to detect the base station, meaning you have to be already connected to the network in order for the utility to "see" your base station. If your access point is running in closed mode, casual users won't be able to even connect to your base station in the first place, and thus it won't show up in the admin utility.

It is possible for more advanced wireless auditing programs to detect closed networks by sniffing raw 802.11b frames and watching for association requests. I believe kismet for linux or bsd-airtools has this functionality.

But you're right, you should be using WEP anyway.



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