<![CDATA[[SecurityRatty] tag: linksys]]> http://securityratty.com/tag/linksys Sat, 27 Oct 2007 10:33:08 +0000 iRatty Engine http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[Linksys WRT610N Review]]> http://securityratty.com/article/edcd9863740d597dbc3a37c18f2e59ff http://securityratty.com/article/edcd9863740d597dbc3a37c18f2e59ff My review of the Linksys WRT610N at Macworld: The router works quite well at handling Wi-Fi and other functions, but is terrible at working with Mac OS X, one of the advertised features of the product. The WRT610N is a revised design of the previous simultaneous dual-band (2.4/5 GHz) Draft N WRT600N model which had far worse problems.

Linksys addressed many of my concerns with that previous device. The 610N can mount a drive and share it via SMB and FTP, have two full-speed connections running over both bands without skipping a beat, and supports several methods of getting the one-click WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) to work. Read the review for all the details, but I can't recommend this router to Mac users with any needs beyond basic networking; I'm perfectly happy to give it a full thumbs-up for Windows XP and Vista users, however.

WRT610N_M.jpg

WPS is a particular mess, by the way. Linksys has four somewhat distinct methods of using WPS to enable a password-free encrypted connection between a client and a base station: a button on the front that, when pressed, turns on WPS; and three modes (one of them similar to that button) accessible via their Web configuration software. One option is to get the base station to create a short PIN that's then entered on the client system as an out-of-band confirmation that there's no man in the middle.

Apple, by contrast, has a single way of joining a WPS-offering base station: it displays the network's name in bold. Select the network, and Mac OS X displays a key code that needs to be entered on the base station. But the WRT610N can't handle that option. If you put the WRT610N into a mode in which Apple can spot the device as offering a WPS handshake, you can't enter the code into the Linksys router!

This shows that there's still rough edges in the WPS protocol that two of the highest-selling makers of Wi-Fi gear can manage to not mesh up their respective options. (Apple declined to comment for my Macworld story; Linksys confirmed the lack of compatibility, but put the burden on Apple's doorstep.)

]]> Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:27:41 +0000 wrt610n linksys wrt610n linksys wps protocol wps base station linksys router one-click wps wps handshake Linksys WRT610N Review <![CDATA[Intro to DD-WRT Firmware: Mod your wireless router to do more ]]> http://securityratty.com/article/c1b3be13cff0f23f69f9b8fda5e35d74 http://securityratty.com/article/c1b3be13cff0f23f69f9b8fda5e35d74 New Video: Intro to DD-WRT: Mod your wireless router to do more
DD-WRT is a Linux firmware available for many Linksys, NetGear, Belkin, D-Link, Fon, Dell, Asus and other vendor’s wireless routers. DD-WRT is far more feature rich than the stock firmware that comes with most routers. This video covers the basics of installing and configuring DD-WRT.

Two side notes: My Nmap class will be held at Ivy Tech in Sellersburg Indiana at 1PM on Sat Sept 20th 2008 in room P5. If this one goes well the next presentation will be on sniffers. Also, thanks to all of the folks who have signed up for Dreamhost using my discount code, it's really helped support the site with extra revenue.

]]> Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:31:07 +0000 dd-wrt vendors wireless routers wireless router routers video covers video linux firmware intro stock firmware Intro to DD-WRT Firmware: Mod your wireless router to do more <![CDATA[RSA: Researcher: Web page can take over your router]]> http://securityratty.com/article/d3fa145292761f520d0f7d4f756b6e14 http://securityratty.com/article/d3fa145292761f520d0f7d4f756b6e14

]]> Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:00:00 +0000 dan kaminsky linksys division san francisco rsa conference cisco routers d-link widely attack RSA: Researcher: Web page can take over your router <![CDATA[Seven Years of Wi-Fi Networking News]]> http://securityratty.com/article/bc8489ab92131acf70fe426bc6b1364c http://securityratty.com/article/bc8489ab92131acf70fe426bc6b1364c It's hard for me to believe this, but Wi-Fi Networking News is seven years old on Sunday, 6 April 2008: Folks, there are times when I feel a little bit aged. Turning 40 a couple weeks ago didn't give me that feeling. Have two children (1 and 3 2/3) has a bit (mostly when I'm achey from too much carrying and too little sleep). But finding that my "other child," Wi-Fi Networking News is a grand spanking seven years old has, in fact, made me stoop just a little bit.

I started Wi-Fi Networking News under the less euphonious name 802.11b Networking News back in April 2001 after spending months researching what became a front-cover article in Circuits, the then-separate tech section of The New York Times. The first post is still live, as are all the nearly 4,800 others.

(I had help: Nancy Gohring wrote part-time for WNN for a couple years when we had a bit more traffic; she took a full-time job for and still works for IDG News Service, which I am now slightly affiliated with through my new hardware regular blog at PC World.)

Original Site Design
The site as it appeared in April 2001

That first article for the Times left a lot of research unused. I flowed some of it into the first weeks of the 802.11b-later-Wi-Fi site. I discovered there was generally no shortage of news about wireless data, which in those early days included HomeRF and then early flavors of Bluetooth. HomeRF hit the dust, and Bluetooth evolved into a complement to Wi-Fi.

Since starting, I've covered extensively the growth of the hotspot market, the rise and fall and rise again of municipal networks, the change in consumer equipment from expensive and slow to cheap and fast, the growth of the enterprise market, the phoenix-like in-flight calling/broadband market, and, more recently, cellular and WiMax technology.

Enterprise coverage was once a central part of Wi-Fi Networking News, but it became clear a few years ago that as equipment was redesigned to be integral to the enterprise, that my ability cover and test gear was too limited, and the need for true enterprise experience was necessary to write about it. This disappointed a lot of enterprise readers and equipment makers who wanted me to keep writing about corporate hardware.

The focus over the last few years on municipal Wi-Fi was not just necessary--few people besides me were covering it in depth--but also represented the only significant news in the Wi-Fi world outside of the development of 802.11n/Draft N gear. It's only recently that WiMax, cellular data, spectrum auctions, and in-flight broadband have picked back up to become stories that you all want to know about--because they've become real technology you might work with. As the city-wide Wi-Fi arc played itself out, I'm covering it less because there's less of interest; it's going to become routine and the province of city CTOs and CIOs.

While writing this site, I try to have opinions, but not an agenda. I try to keep an open mind, though I do descend into cynicism, often well founded, but perhaps too readily employed. I'll try my best to keep myself honest and cheery in the years to come.

The biggest trends I expect to see develop in 2008 to 2010 are in these key areas:

Appliances. I expected 2007 to be the year that Wi-Fi was in everything: cameras, games, phones, and tchotchkes. Instead, Wi-Fi has only gradually spread, with a few gaming consoles, and many handsets and smartphones gaining or extending their use. It may be that I missed a trend: cameras in phones may become so good by 2009, that we don't need a camera with Wi-Fi at all (Wired reports today on several 5 megapixel cameraphones shown at CTIA this week). It's also likely that if WiMax gets a foothold, we'll get handhelds probably in 2009 that sport high-speed connections for all kinds of high-bandwidth purposes, like live uploading of streaming video.

Video over wireless. I look at this category as not just another instance of broadcast, like Qualcomm's MediaFLO which is really TV to the cell phone; rather, we'll see ways in which Wi-Fi, WiMax, and cellular data are used to push stored and streaming media to all sorts of devices. I look to Starbucks, Apple, and AT&T to lead the way on cached media in stores that can be filled up at local network speeds: download a full-length, HD movie in a few minutes in a Starbucks from the iTunes cache rather than 3 hours at home.

Radio over Wi-Fi. Internet radio via Wi-Fi music players seems like a trend--buying a boombox you can tune in wherever you are, or using a handheld MP3 players--but even with many devices, I don't feel a sense that it's caught on quite yet. If Apple puts Internet radio over Wi-Fi into new iPhone/iPod touch firmware, it'll likely take off; Nokia allows a third-party program for its N series for Internet radio over Wi-Fi already.

Cellular data/mobile broadband. I admit to being wrong about the potential of cell data, due to the overhype from the carriers and the horrible pricing relative to throughput and availability of the 1xRTT and GPRS systems. As cell data networks have matured into true broadband--slow, but broadband--media, the hype has lessened, disclosure has improved (no more "unlimited" usage, eh?), and the value has increased. We'll see more of the same with faster flavors of GSM networking and WiMax's deployment. The networks will become faster and cheaper and less restrictive.

For a good sense of what people are still reading on Wi-Fi Networking News, here are the titles of the top 10 articles since I switched to Google Analytics in Sept. 2006:

  • Change Your Linksys WRT54G Admin Password Right Now!
  • WPA Cracking Proof of Concept Available
  • Weakness in Passphrase Choice in WPA Interface
  • Most Wireless Speakers Don't Live Up to Goal
  • Best Wi-Fi Signal Finder Yet
  • Linksys Latest Models: Your Experience?
  • T-Mobile Loses Starbucks; AT&T Becomes Wi-Fi Hotspot Giant
  • Editorial: Don't Buy Draft N
  • WPA for Free under Windows 2000
  • The L in Linksys WRT54GL Stands for Linux

A few observations. Security remains key in people's minds: Security articles from 2004 are still being heavily viewed in 2008. Linksys is definitely high in people's minds for particular problems: Change the default password, buy a Linux (not VxWorks) embedded router, report problems with various models. Oddly, the wireless speakers and wireless printers articles are short stubs that are pure blog: they link to longer articles elsewhere. The Best Wi-Fi Signal Finder Yet story is 4 years old and still gets 1,000 page views a month. The invisible hand--nay, the long tail!--works in archives as it does everywhere.

Will I still be pounding away 7 years from now on this site? That seems about as unlikely as the last 7 years, which means it will probably happen. Traffic has dropped off over the years from the time in which Wi-Fi was a great (and expensive) mystery to today when there's more information and less confusion about it. As long as there are any questions to be answered, I'll keep writing.

]]> Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:10:45 +0000 wi-fi wi-fi hotspot giant municipal wi-fi wi-fi signal finder wi-fi world world 11b-later-wi-fi site 11b news Seven Years of Wi-Fi Networking News <![CDATA[Linksys, Trend Micro pair security software with routers]]> http://securityratty.com/article/c8a5187faf5ff90a7750e852c5522cc2 http://securityratty.com/article/c8a5187faf5ff90a7750e852c5522cc2 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:00:00 +0000 unsafe sites sites offer trend micro businesses ward linksys protectlink gateway spam viruses control Linksys, Trend Micro pair security software with routers <![CDATA[Sidewinder firewall brand takes a back seat]]> http://securityratty.com/article/64735b97e4b9bfb7cfea94c0b3eace17 http://securityratty.com/article/64735b97e4b9bfb7cfea94c0b3eace17 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:00:00 +0000 linksys company company product line plans change secure option rebrand Sidewinder firewall brand takes a back seat <![CDATA[Off the wire: How to choose the best WRT54G router for you]]> http://securityratty.com/article/baa07c9ad03f181d7155a20563f53912 http://securityratty.com/article/baa07c9ad03f181d7155a20563f53912 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 07:24:16 +0000 wireless router linksyscisco wrt54g google rummage nude logs famous Off the wire: How to choose the best WRT54G router for you <![CDATA[Blue Box #70: 2-yr Anniversary show, VoIP security vulnerabilities, Vonage, Comcast, phishing, listener comments and much, much more... ]]> http://securityratty.com/article/000fe05beb7be31948ee3c35b723296d http://securityratty.com/article/000fe05beb7be31948ee3c35b723296d

Synopsis:Blue Box #70: 2-yr Anniversary show, VoIP security vulnerabilities, Vonage, Comcast, phishing, listener comments and much, much more...

Welcome to Blue Box: The VoIP Security Podcast #70, a 51-minute podcast  from Dan York and Jonathan Zar covering VoIP security news, comments and opinions.   

Download the show here (MP3, 21MB) or subscribe to the RSS feed to download the show automatically. 

You may also listen to this podcast right now:

NOTE: This show was recorded on October 25, 2007.

Show Content:

Comments, suggestions and feedback are welcome either as replies to this post  or via e-mail to blueboxpodcast@gmail.com.  Audio comments sent as attached MP3 files are definitely welcome and will be played in future shows.  You may also call the listener comment line at either +1-206-350-7280 or via SIP to 'bluebox@voipuser.org' to leave a comment there. 

Thank you for listening and please do let us know what you think of the show.

]]> Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:52:27 +0000 voip security voip security vulnerabilities voip security news voip voip security podcast consumer voip vulnerabilities sans voip security sans Blue Box #70: 2-yr Anniversary show, VoIP security vulnerabilities, Vonage, Comcast, phishing, listener comments and much, much more... <![CDATA[Blue Box #70: 2-yr Anniversary show, VoIP security vulnerabilities, Vonage, Comcast, phishing, listener comments and much, much more... ]]> http://securityratty.com/article/360cbdf1f4dc8de6bb655273a0eaf2a5 http://securityratty.com/article/360cbdf1f4dc8de6bb655273a0eaf2a5

Synopsis:Blue Box #70: 2-yr Anniversary show, VoIP security vulnerabilities, Vonage, Comcast, phishing, listener comments and much, much more...

Welcome to Blue Box: The VoIP Security Podcast #70, a 51-minute podcast  from Dan York and Jonathan Zar covering VoIP security news, comments and opinions.   

Download the show here (MP3, 21MB) or subscribe to the RSS feed to download the show automatically. 

You may also listen to this podcast right now:

NOTE: This show was recorded on October 25, 2007.

Show Content:

Comments, suggestions and feedback are welcome either as replies to this post  or via e-mail to blueboxpodcast@gmail.com.  Audio comments sent as attached MP3 files are definitely welcome and will be played in future shows.  You may also call the listener comment line at either +1-206-350-7280 or via SIP to 'bluebox@voipuser.org' to leave a comment there. 

Thank you for listening and please do let us know what you think of the show.

]]> Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:52:53 +0000 voip security voip security vulnerabilities voip security news voip voip security podcast consumer voip vulnerabilities sans voip security sans Blue Box #70: 2-yr Anniversary show, VoIP security vulnerabilities, Vonage, Comcast, phishing, listener comments and much, much more... <![CDATA[Blue Box #69: Linksys SPA-941 vulnerability, SIP DDoS, New release of SIPVicious, Asterisk security roadmap, other VoIP security news, listener commen]]> http://securityratty.com/article/27c750855cc69253762c55b647a5e9a8 http://securityratty.com/article/27c750855cc69253762c55b647a5e9a8

Synopsis:Blue Box #69: Linksys SPA-941 vulnerability, SIP DDoS, New release of SIPVicious, Asterisk security roadmap, other VoIP security news, listener comments and more

Welcome to Blue Box: The VoIP Security Podcast #69, a 46-minute podcast  from Dan York and Jonathan Zar covering VoIP security news, comments and opinions.   

Download the show here (MP3, 21MB) or subscribe to the RSS feed to download the show automatically. 

You may also listen to this podcast right now:

Show Content:

Show Content:

Comments, suggestions and feedback are welcome either as replies to this post  or via e-mail to blueboxpodcast@gmail.com.  Audio comments sent as attached MP3 files are definitely welcome and will be played in future shows.  You may also call the listener comment line at either +1-206-350-7280 or via SIP to 'bluebox@voipuser.org' to leave a comment there. 

Thank you for listening and please do let us know what you think of the show.

]]> Sat, 27 Oct 2007 10:33:08 +0000 listener comment line comment line comments listener comments asterisk security roadmap voip security news comment asterisk linksys spa Blue Box #69: Linksys SPA-941 vulnerability, SIP DDoS, New release of SIPVicious, Asterisk security roadmap, other VoIP security news, listener commen