Re: Wireless home LAN - WiFi vs Bluetooth?
On Mon, 29 Jul 2019 14:05:02 +0200
john doe <johndoe65534@mail.com> wrote:
> On 7/29/2019 12:57 PM, Reco wrote:
> > Hi.
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 29, 2019 at 05:40:40AM -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:
> >> A concern is security issues. Bluetooth, being short range, may thus
> >> have an advantage. Speed is not an issue for my expected usage. (I was
> >> one of my ISP's last 6 dial-up clients ;)
> >
> > Both have their disadvantages in this regard.
> >
> > WPA2's (that's your conventional WiFi standard) secure configuration is
> > fiendishly difficult.
> > You have beacon frames that are broadcasted without any encryption.
> > You have authentication frames that can be intercepted (so WPA
> > passphrase can be bruteforced).
> > You have several encryption algorithms, but:
> > a) They are not equally good.
> > b) You may have a hardware that lack support for a good ones.
> >
> > They do have WPA3 that promises to fix all this, but ... you and I do
> > not have the hardware for it yet.
> >
> >
> > Bluetooth, on the other hand, is a security nightmare.
> > First, they got reasonable encryption in 4.0 standard version, and it's
> > optional. You have certain "profiles" that willingly elect to forbid
> > encryption.
> > Second, authentication aka "pairing" (which is optional too). In its
> > most common form authentication key is a four-digit number, with most
> > devices preset to four zeroes.
> >
> >
> > In short, nothing beats Ethernet in your typical household for
> > conventional computing needs. Smartphones and tablets may convince you
> > to use WiFi, but these devices are insecure anyway, so there's no loss.
> >
>
> What about Powerline (PLC), any better then Wireless with regard to
> security?
I checked into this option myself. One caveat: For it to work the
router and computers have to be on the same household electrical
circuit. That is, if the router is on the "office" circuit and the
computer(s) are on the "bedroom" circuit, it won't work. Just look at
your breakerbox: each breaker is a separate circuit. Also if you have
any electric devices running on the circuit being used to network,
you'll get interferance. Plus, you have to buy an adapter for the
router and each computer. I considered this a last resort option.
B
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