Airport question

Garner Miller wrote:
> In article <xThki.29865$xk5.21511@edtnps82>,
> Robert Montgomery <info-block.TakeThisOut@stargate_tech.net> wrote:
>
>
>>I just found an Airport icon on the upper, right corner of my screen.
>>
>>When I clicked on the icon, a drop-down menu showed up, with a bunch of
>>names in a list, which sounded like nicknames. What does this mean?
>
>
> Those are the names of wireless networks that your machine can see. The
> names are customizable by the owners of those access points. If the
> owner hasn't done so, they'll just be the default, such as "linksys" or
> "Apple Network XXXX."

Thanks, Garner, it helps, but my computer is not supposed to be
connected with any other computers in a network. I was appalled when I
saw those name under the Bluetooth icon, especially because I recgnized
one as a neighbour and business associate!

It was the name of the building manager who lives in the same building
as me, but two floors down from me and about 40 feet to the east! I pay
the rent to him and he looks after the building I live in!

I don't want his name showing up on my computer unannounced! I want my
privacy!

I'm worried about spying into my computer or people piggy-backing off of
my Internet connection.

Are those scenarios real possibilites?

As a precaustion I turned off Bluetooth in the Finder menu at the top,
right of my screen and went to System Preferences > Bluetooth > Settings
> Discoverable and unchecked that, and also in Bluetooth > Sharing, I
unchecked everything there, but I'm not sure what all that Bluetooth
stuff means, except that it's for wirless networking.

It's not practical for me to close my Internet connection every night
when i'm not using my computer to prevent people from freeloading off of
my paid Internet connection, because I'm using Mail, Safari, Firefox and
Dreamweaver and it's too much work to close and open those programs
every day and my computer is too slow for me to have to wait for that
every day.

Robert


>>And is that icon normally there? I hadn't noticed it before. It seemed
>>to appear suddenly on its own.
>
>
> I don't recall whether it's there by default, but you can add or remove
> it as you like. To toggle it on or off, open System Preferences from
> the Apple menu, go to Network, then choose "Airport" from the drop-down
> "Show:" menu near the top. There's a checkbox near the bottom to switch
> it on and off.
>
> Hope that helps.
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

On 2007-07-11 10:17:14 -0700, Robert Montgomery
<info-block.RemoveThis@stargate_tech.net> said:

>>> I just found an Airport icon on the upper, right corner of my screen.
>>>
>>> When I clicked on the icon, a drop-down menu showed up, with a bunch of
>>> names in a list, which sounded like nicknames. What does this mean?
>>
>> Those are the names of wireless networks that your machine can see.
>> The names are customizable by the owners of those access points. If
>> the owner hasn't done so, they'll just be the default, such as
>> "linksys" or "Apple Network XXXX."
>
> Thanks, Garner, it helps, but my computer is not supposed to be
> connected with any other computers in a network. I was appalled when I
> saw those name under the Bluetooth icon, especially because I recgnized
> one as a neighbour and business associate!

That's a wireless system for you. The names don't matter, the question
is whether they are logged on your YOUR wireless system accessing your
internet connection. That doesn't mean they are on your box reading
your email, or rooting your porn. But they could be competing for your
internet resources, if you haven't shut them out of access to your
wireless router.

> It was the name of the building manager who lives in the same building
> as me, but two floors down from me and about 40 feet to the east! I pay
> the rent to him and he looks after the building I live in!
>
> I don't want his name showing up on my computer unannounced! I want my privacy!

Being able to ascertain that they have a wireless router is really more
a matter of your box scanning for potential connection points, and
finding THEIR systems.

> I'm worried about spying into my computer or people piggy-backing off
> of my Internet connection.

Make sure you're firewalled on your computer via OSX and you shouldn't
have a problem regarding your computer. Piggy backing on your router
is another matter. I was flabbergasted, running without any blockage
on my router, when I opened up the configuration panel for my belkin in
a brower and found FOUR people in my neighborhood logged on to my
router. Was completedly irate! I had seen additional connections but
assumed they were legit, like a printer and my wife's computer and so
forth. When I saw more than the five connections (3 computers, one
printer and the Network, apparently) I was curious but it wasn't until
I saw "Jason's PC" and "Karen Johnson's PC" that I recognized who the
hell they were. And besides these two there were another two that had
more obliquely named computers.

I called Belkin, they walked me through out to enable wireless
encryption on my router (WEP 64-bit manual), and all was well for a
couple of months. Then my wife started getting rejected by my router
and I took off the encryption. I "temporarily" removed encryption and
forgot about it. Then, just last week, I looked at my "DHCP Client
List" and found two of them back again! Amazing.

At least these two are so low-tech I think they were just doinking
around and found a faster approach and so left it on. For grins, among
the other 5 routers I've seen listed, I've tried switching to them. I
was successful with 2, the other 3 wanted passwords. On the two I got
access to, they were slow as mud, I can see why they wanted on my
router.

> Are those scenarios real possibilites?

With out encrypted wireless communications on your router and firewall
operation. (System Preferenes > Sharing > Firewall (on)), I guess so.
I couldn't image anybody would be logged on my router. But guess what?
My Firewall as been off more often than not (while I was trying to
figure out communications problems that probably didn't relate). In
fact I just turned it on again, when I was checking it's location for
this post!

> As a precaustion I turned off Bluetooth in the Finder menu at the top,
> right of my screen and went to System Preferences > Bluetooth >
> Settings > Discoverable and unchecked that, and also in Bluetooth >
> Sharing, I unchecked everything there, but I'm not sure what all that
> Bluetooth stuff means, except that it's for wirless networking.

I don't think it means anything, since you have to specifically "marry"
your devices initially. If they tippy-toed into your office and
"married" their phone, well, I guess they could get to your
phone-syncable stuff. But not your porn!

> It's not practical for me to close my Internet connection every night
> when i'm not using my computer to prevent people from freeloading off
> of my paid Internet connection, because I'm using Mail, Safari, Firefox
> and Dreamweaver and it's too much work to close and open those programs
> every day and my computer is too slow for me to have to wait for that
> every day.

For any eavesdroppers, I'd love to change the name of my router as it
appears in the Airport drop-down. Right now my Belkin reads as "WLAN",
and I'd love for it to read "Gerry's Wireless" (assuming I'm Gerry) or
"Jason Go Home" or some such.

Just to be friendly...!
--
///---
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

Robert,

Relax. You have your privacy. (Most of it, anyway.)

The list you see does _not_ mean you are connected to all those
networks. The list is of available networks you could _potentially_
connect to.

A good analogy to explain it is to think as if that icon is the tuner
on your TV or radio. If you turn on your TV and ask it to scan
channels over the air, you could pick up 10, 20 stations. They appear
on your TV channel dialer. That does not mean you are actually
watching all those channels. It means you _could_ watch them, but you
are not currently watching anything except the _one_ channel you are
currently connected to. That is what the icon is--it is simply your
tuner. If you have not chosen and checked a network, you're not on it.

Removing the menu will not stop your computer from seeing them. If you
turned off AirPort, you would not see them, but they could still see
your stlll-operating wireless router.

Simply seeing those names in the menu is no more of a threat to you
than people knowing your street address from the numbers visible
outside your house, or your license plate on your car. They only know
that you are there.

By the way, that menu does not tell you anything about whether others
are connected to you. For the most part, only your router's software
can tell you that, through its log or user administration. The best
thing to do is to simply turn on WPA encryption on your router, with a
password. That way, you can ensure that you are the only one using
your network. (I do mean WPA encryption. WEP encryption is too easy to
break. WPA is strong enough that the most likely way to break in is if
the network owner chooses a short password that is in the dictionary.
No amount of security technology can defend against a password that
can be guessed or programmed into a list. If you choose a long
password that is not a real word, WPA is essentially unbreakable.)

Once you enable WPA encryption, all the other methods, like the
firewall, are not so important because no one will be able to get onto
your network in the first place. I do pay attention to my firewall
settings, because my Mac is a laptop that is taken onto public
networks away from home where the dangers are more varied.

And once you enable WPA encryption, you never have to turn off your
Internet connection because no one else will be able to get in.

Paul

On Jul 11, 10:17 am, Robert Montgomery <info-block DeleteThis @stargate_tech.net>
wrote:
> Thanks, Garner, it helps, but my computer is not supposed to be
> connected with any other computers in a network. I was appalled when I
> saw those name under the Bluetooth icon, especially because I recgnized
> one as a neighbour and business associate!
>
> It was the name of the building manager who lives in the same building
> as me, but two floors down from me and about 40 feet to the east! I pay
> the rent to him and he looks after the building I live in!
>
> I don't want his name showing up on my computer unannounced! I want my
> privacy!
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

Paul <u53net RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:

> Relax. You have your privacy. (Most of it, anyway.)
>
> The list you see does _not_ mean you are connected to all those
> networks. The list is of available networks you could _potentially_
> connect to.

> On Jul 11, 10:17 am, Robert Montgomery <info-block RemoveThis @stargate_tech.net>
> wrote:

> > I don't want his name showing up on my computer unannounced! I want my
> > privacy!

In fact, to the extent that there might be a privacy issue, you have it
backwards. If you are seeing their network names, that means that you
could potentially broach their privacy - not the other way around.

That's about like looking in your phone book and noticing that your
neighbor's name is listed in the phone book in your house. That doesn't
constitute your neighbor snooping in your house because his name is in
your phone book.

--
Richard Maine | Good judgement comes from experience;
email: last name at domain . net | experience comes from bad judgement.
domain: summertriangle | -- Mark Twain
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

In article <2007071111154443658-xxx@yyyzzz>, gtr <xxx.RemoveThis@yyy.zzz> wrote:

> On 2007-07-11 10:17:14 -0700, Robert Montgomery
> <info-block.RemoveThis@stargate_tech.net> said:
>
> >>> I just found an Airport icon on the upper, right corner of my screen.
> >>>
> >>> When I clicked on the icon, a drop-down menu showed up, with a bunch of
> >>> names in a list, which sounded like nicknames. What does this mean?
> >>
> >> Those are the names of wireless networks that your machine can see.
> >> The names are customizable by the owners of those access points. If
> >> the owner hasn't done so, they'll just be the default, such as
> >> "linksys" or "Apple Network XXXX."
> >
> > Thanks, Garner, it helps, but my computer is not supposed to be
> > connected with any other computers in a network. I was appalled when I
> > saw those name under the Bluetooth icon, especially because I recgnized
> > one as a neighbour and business associate!
>
> That's a wireless system for you. The names don't matter, the question
> is whether they are logged on your YOUR wireless system accessing your
> internet connection. That doesn't mean they are on your box reading
> your email, or rooting your porn. But they could be competing for your
> internet resources, if you haven't shut them out of access to your
> wireless router.

When you see these names under the Airport icon, they don't mean that
they're logged onto anything. These are just wireless networks that
your Mac has detected are available in your vicinity. These are
networks you *could* log onto if you wanted to, although some may
require a password.

What you're basically seeing are all the nearby wireless routers and
access points that have "Broadcast SSID" enabled.

--
Barry Margolin, barmar.RemoveThis@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***
*** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group ***
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

I also use a D-LInk. First, open your D-LInk manual and find out the
address to type into your Web browser to get to the router setup page.
On my model (DI-624), it's http://192.168.0.1 This is the address of
your router on your network, and is not out on the Internet. Then
follow the manual's instructions for wireless encryption. On my model,
if I am looking at the browser setup home page then I click the
Wireless tab and I'm there. Use WPA, TKIP, PSK.

If you don't have the manual, you can always download it from
dlink.com.

On Jul 11, 8:50 pm, Robert Montgomery <info-block.TakeThisOut@stargate_tech.net>
wrote:
>
> But how would I enable WPA encryption? (I have a D-Link router.)
>
> Robert
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

The log from my router currently shows access from two MAC addresses. One is
the MAC address of my computer (I know that a sufficiently talented hacker
can spoof this), and the other is an unknown MAC address.

I have 'Access List Protection' enabled on my router, which means that it
only allows access from MAC addresses I have put in the Access List.

The unknown MAC address in the log is not in the access list, yet it shows
as accessing the network.

Does anyone know what's going on here?
--
Thanks in advance,
Steve = : ^ )

Paul:

> Robert,
>
> Relax. You have your privacy. (Most of it, anyway.)
>
> The list you see does _not_ mean you are connected to all those
> networks. The list is of available networks you could _potentially_
> connect to.
>
> A good analogy to explain it is to think as if that icon is the tuner
> on your TV or radio. If you turn on your TV and ask it to scan
> channels over the air, you could pick up 10, 20 stations. They appear
> on your TV channel dialer. That does not mean you are actually
> watching all those channels. It means you _could_ watch them, but you
> are not currently watching anything except the _one_ channel you are
> currently connected to. That is what the icon is--it is simply your
> tuner. If you have not chosen and checked a network, you're not on it.
>
> Removing the menu will not stop your computer from seeing them. If you
> turned off AirPort, you would not see them, but they could still see
> your stlll-operating wireless router.
>
> Simply seeing those names in the menu is no more of a threat to you
> than people knowing your street address from the numbers visible
> outside your house, or your license plate on your car. They only know
> that you are there.
>
> By the way, that menu does not tell you anything about whether others
> are connected to you. For the most part, only your router's software
> can tell you that, through its log or user administration. The best
> thing to do is to simply turn on WPA encryption on your router, with a
> password. That way, you can ensure that you are the only one using
> your network. (I do mean WPA encryption. WEP encryption is too easy to
> break. WPA is strong enough that the most likely way to break in is if
> the network owner chooses a short password that is in the dictionary.
> No amount of security technology can defend against a password that
> can be guessed or programmed into a list. If you choose a long
> password that is not a real word, WPA is essentially unbreakable.)
>
> Once you enable WPA encryption, all the other methods, like the
> firewall, are not so important because no one will be able to get onto
> your network in the first place. I do pay attention to my firewall
> settings, because my Mac is a laptop that is taken onto public
> networks away from home where the dangers are more varied.
>
> And once you enable WPA encryption, you never have to turn off your
> Internet connection because no one else will be able to get in.
>
> Paul
>
> On Jul 11, 10:17 am, Robert Montgomery <info-block.DeleteThis@stargate_tech.net>
> wrote:
>> Thanks, Garner, it helps, but my computer is not supposed to be
>> connected with any other computers in a network. I was appalled when I
>> saw those name under the Bluetooth icon, especially because I recgnized
>> one as a neighbour and business associate!
>>
>> It was the name of the building manager who lives in the same building
>> as me, but two floors down from me and about 40 feet to the east! I pay
>> the rent to him and he looks after the building I live in!
>>
>> I don't want his name showing up on my computer unannounced! I want my
>> privacy!
>
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

In article <C2BBB1DB.C550%steveb@bigpond.net.au>,
Steve Ball <steveb.DeleteThis@bigpond.net.au> wrote:

> > A good analogy to explain it is to think as if that icon is the tuner
> > on your TV or radio. If you turn on your TV and ask it to scan
> > channels over the air, you could pick up 10, 20 stations. They appear

Another way to view the privacy issue here is to consider what happens
if you set up *your* own Airport network, involving your Mac and your
Internet connection, inside your apartment (and if you've not already
done this, you might want to -- it's really convenient to be able to get
rid of cables to many peripherals, and take your laptop anyway in your
residence).

If you do this, then as a practical matter there's really no way to stop
your radio waves from penetrating at least to some extent into
neighboring residences and "invading their privacy" (unless you want to
cover all your walls, ceilings, floors, and windows and doors with
aluminum foil).

In fact, I think -- but others more expert may be able to correct me --
that in this situation, there is no way to stop others from seeing that
*your* network signal exists and is coming into their space, and from
seeing what the name of your network is. You can, however -- and per
the advice already given, should! -- take measures to ensure that they
can't connect to your machine and that, even if they somehow can, they
can't decode what you're broadcasting to them.
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

On 2007-07-11 17:24:28 -0700, Steve Ball <steveb.TakeThisOut@bigpond.net.au> said:

> The log from my router currently shows access from two MAC addresses. One is
> the MAC address of my computer (I know that a sufficiently talented hacker
> can spoof this), and the other is an unknown MAC address.
>
> I have 'Access List Protection' enabled on my router, which means that it
> only allows access from MAC addresses I have put in the Access List.
>
> The unknown MAC address in the log is not in the access list, yet it shows
> as accessing the network.
>
> Does anyone know what's going on here?

I don't. But when I rebooted my router it seems that for my own
desktop computer I seem to have both my computer and my "network"
logged on to it. But both elements are me and my one operative
computer. I've forgotten how I substantiated that but I did.
--
///---
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

Paul wrote:

> Robert,
>
> The best
> thing to do is to simply turn on WPA encryption on your router, with a
> password. That way, you can ensure that you are the only one using
> your network. (I do mean WPA encryption. WEP encryption is too easy to
> break. WPA is strong enough that the most likely way to break in is if
> the network owner chooses a short password that is in the dictionary.
> No amount of security technology can defend against a password that
> can be guessed or programmed into a list. If you choose a long
> password that is not a real word, WPA is essentially unbreakable.)
>
> Once you enable WPA encryption, all the other methods, like the
> firewall, are not so important because no one will be able to get onto
> your network in the first place. I do pay attention to my firewall
> settings, because my Mac is a laptop that is taken onto public
> networks away from home where the dangers are more varied.
>
> And once you enable WPA encryption, you never have to turn off your
> Internet connection because no one else will be able to get in.
>
> Paul

Thsnks, guys. I enabled my Firewall, following GTR's instructions.

But how would I enable WPA encryption? (I have a D-Link router.)

Robert
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

In article <C2BBB1DB.C550%steveb@bigpond.net.au>,
Steve Ball <steveb DeleteThis @bigpond.net.au> wrote:

> The unknown MAC address in the log is not in the access list, yet it shows
> as accessing the network.

Steve-

I don't know for sure, but you might be seeing a MAC address from your
router.

A wireless router can have three MAC addresses. One seen on the
Internet side, one on a local Ethernet port and one on the Wireless
port. They may be printed (in fine print!) somewhere on the router.
See if one of them is the one you found in the log.

Robert-

It wasn't clear from your posting that your router was wireless. If it
is NOT wireless, then WPA and WEP may not apply.

No one can get into a non-wireless router to share your Internet
connection unless they have an Ethernet cable directly connected, or
unless you have your Airport set to share the connection wirelessly.
See how your Sharing System Preference - Internet is set.

Fred
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

Fred's post reminded me of something. Robert, is your Mac connected to
the Internet only by cables? If you don't have any machines that need
wireless, and you have a D-Link with wireless, you can certainly turn
off wireless at the router. That will disable wireless but leave your
wired connection working. That way, you turn off your router's signal,
and you will never have to worry about wireless security again.

Just go into the router configuration software as previously
discussed, and when you get to the Wireless tab, just disable the
wireless transmitter.
That takes care of any outgoing signal you might be broadcasting.

In your Airport menu, you can choose Turn AirPort Off, and that would
shut off the ability for your machine to talk to other machines
wirelessly.

Do both and you're covered at both ends.

On Jul 11, 8:50 pm, Robert Montgomery <info-block.RemoveThis@stargate_tech.net>
wrote:
> Thsnks, guys. I enabled my Firewall, following GTR's instructions.
>
> But how would I enable WPA encryption? (I have a D-Link router.)
>
> Robert
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question 

On 7/11/07 11:50 PM, "Robert Montgomery" <info-block.DeleteThis@stargate_tech.net>
wrote:

> Thsnks, guys. I enabled my Firewall, following GTR's instructions.
>
> But how would I enable WPA encryption? (I have a D-Link router.)
>

This is an RTFM question - the specifics vary from one manufacture/model to
another, but typically there is a web administrative interface where you can
do this. Read the manual for info on getting started. Once you are in the
admin interface, there may be HELP available on the router itself.

A couple of other suggestions:

1. Change the admin password (and maybe the login ID) The defaults are well
known. And make sure you record it for later.

2. Turn off any wide area network (WAN) access.

3. Read about all the security settings.

4. Make sure that all your wireless devices can support the same protocols
and then set them up that way.
 >> Stay informed about: Airport question