| Are we talking about the ROUTER "admin" password? | Or are we talking about the ESSID encryption passcode? | | They're different things. | "I" was talking about the router admin password. |
Yes. I don't know why people are making this so complicated. There have been cases of routers being hacked, sometimes because they're set with default passwords that don't get changed. Not a big issue. Just one thing to make sure you have covered.
Probably similar to my mother's response when she found out Dad's last bit of advice as I was leaving for boot camp - "If you dip the wick don't dribble any wax." - which I made even worse by laughing at her ...
IP addresses are assigned to the devices and "told" to the outside world whenever a device tries to communicate. Each message essentially says, "Hi, I am A.B.C.D trying to contact E.F.G.H on port X". The network "fabric" (routers, etc.) arranges for the message to be delivered to the *expected* home of E.F.G.H (the fabric is SMART!). When E.F.G.H receives the message, it creates a reply that essentially says, "Hi, A.B.C.D, this is E.F.G.H responding to your request..."
DHCP is a hack that allows addresses to be DYNAMICALLY (the D in DHCP) assigned *from* an external agency (the DHCP server inside your router, in this case). This allows the client machines to be ignorant of their actual IP addresses and makes address management a bit easier.
[Imagine if you wanted to rearrange the addresses that you'd assigned to machines. You wouldn't want to walk up to each individual machine and invoke it's "setup" program, type in a new FIXED address/netmask (gateway, name server, etc. -- lots of things involved besides just IP address!) and then record all of this on a tattered scrap of paper (to ensure you don't screw up and assign the same address to two different machines!!).]DHCP lets you create "pools" of addresses (your pool is probably something like 192.168.1.1 through 192.168.1.100 -- or some other arbitrary upper limit) and have "something" (the DHCP service) keep track of which ones are currently in use along with which machines are using each of them. It does this by accepting a DHCP *request* from each machine/client and, if "unused" addresses remain in the pool, it picks one of those and assigns it to that client -- informing the client of this assignment in its reply *to* the client: "Your IP address will currently be A.B.C.D. Please make a note of it!"
Each assignment is accompanied by a "lease time" -- i.e., this is yours for, AT MOST, X hours (typically 24). If you intend to keep it beyond that time, you'd best RENEW your lease or I am liable to give it out to some other client who comes along tomorrow!
This greatly simplifies network management. Connect a client to the network, tell it to use DHCP and then walk away!
It also lets you connect more devices to your network than you have addresses available -- by allowing addresses to be REUSED. (but, the maximum number of machines AT ANY INSTANT is still determined by the number of available IP's)
The alternative is to go to each individual machine (PC, game console, printer, VoIP phone, etc.) on the network and manually specify these parameters (IP address, netmask, gateway, name server(s), etc.). And, in doing so, making sure you don't create any conflicts (two machines with the same IP address, incompatible netmasks, DNS servers that are unreachable, etc.).
OTOH, by doing so, you *know* where each machine is "located" on the network! A.B.C.D is the PC. A.B.C.E is the Smart TV. A.B.C.F is the game console. So, you don't have to ask (the DHCP server) "where is the game console, today?" before trying to talk to it.
Taken a step further, you can then assign names to each of these predefined IP addresses. For example, my printers are named Curly, Larry, Moe, Shemp and Joe. Each has a label affixed to the front in case I forget which is which. And, my *name* server (DNS) knows that Curly is 10.0.1.101, Larry is 10.0.1.102, etc. If I want to send something to the Phaser 8200DP (Shemp), I can just refer to it by name -- instead of having to remember an P address *or* "lookup" it's CURRENT IP address.
But, when I bring a new printer (for example) into the house, I have to find a spot for it in the IP addresses (and come up with a name that I'll be able to remember -- I've run out of Stooges! :> )
Sometimes there are two different places to look:
- the DHCP page will tell you CURRENT lease holders
- the log will often include "informational" messages telling you when leases were assigned
The buffer available for a log may not be deep enough to "go back far enough" to see some old events (depends on how much "traffic" got injected into the log in the time since the lease was "logged").
Also, some devices allow you to specify which *types* of messages you want to see in your log.
The actual lease holder is only of minor importance; it tells you *what* device was targeted or involved in the exchange. The actual nature of the transaction is still indeterminate; it can be a legitimate application *or* an exploit running on *anything*!
(E.g., Philips has some high end color-adjustable LED light bulbs that can be attacked, remotely. Would you think of them as a likely "target" on your network? :> )
Micky wrote, on Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:24:16 -0500:
You can't go wrong with almost any "ac" router nowadays. An "ac1200" router will be just fine for almost any household.
There are several issues.
First, the SSID is effectively public. Even if you turn off SSID broadcasts, it's trivial to detect your SSID. So, any sort of access control you expect to gain from *hiding* it is laughable! Likewise, making it "obscure" -- "sdsf0gl9k2345s0d" -- won't buy you anything.
The administrator's password is used to access the configuration parameters (usually via a web interface) in the router/appliance. So, if it is guessable (e.g., left at the default setting), then anyone determined to do so can access that page and reconfigure the router to their goals. (details omitted, here).
Some routers also have provisions for *remote* administration. I.e., they expose the web interface to the outside world so some remote agency can manage the router on your behalf (think "cable modem"). Leaving this access "enabled" exposes more attack surface to "the outside"; folks you probably trust a lot less than the ones sitting in your bedrooms, office, etc.!
The "shared secret" passkey is, in theory, confidential -- assuming the router's configuration pages can't be accessed! However, a determined adversary can get past this, as well. There are (paid) services that will deliver you the secret passphrase for some given "sniffed" traffic in 24 hours (48 if you want to save a few dollars). As most folks don't change their passphrases often (every day?), this is a viable attack vector (is your stuff "worth" $X of someone else's money??)
If you have *physical* access to a device (router/appliance/PC/etc.) then the bar is much lower. E.g., it's usually pretty trivial to go poking around someone's "locked" PC.
Moral: don't put anything valuable anyplace folks can get to it!
Don Y wrote, on Wed, 23 Dec 2015 12:57:02 -0700:
Jeff Liebermann knows this stuff much better than I do, but here is what he taught me.
WORSE THAN YOU SAID:
Hence, you have *worse* privacy at a hotspot when you decide to not broadcast your SSID at home.
MOSTLY TRUE WHAT YOU SAID:
So you really really really want to have a UNIQUE ESSID!
MORE CONSIDERATIONS:
One thing you can do is change your ESSID to have "_nomap" on the end of it, which Google says they won't keep. Yes, I know, they expect the entire world to opt out manually that way, which is silly, but that's what they do.
Otherwise, you'll need to change *both* your ESSID and your BSSID (MAC address) periodically, so that Google databases no longer have accurate records. (You can't do anything about your stupid neighbors though, so, you're already doomed.)
There are no free lunches. Said another way, there's no such thing as "win/win".
Wireless makes life easier for users -- no cords, etc. As such, it comes with a cost (privacy, vulnerability to DoS, eavesdropping, etc.).
I have three wireless access points scattered around the house (typically affixed to the ceilings in closets so they are unobtrusive yet give me good coverage, if needed). The radios in each are always "OFF". Every machine, here, uses a hardwired network drop (I have
72 of them; 24 are "available" for devices/48 are dedicated to specific devices -- and that doesn't count the network switches *in* individual rooms that act as port multipliers). They exist primarily for "guests" who are willing to expose their traffic for the convenience of not being tethered to a particular network drop (though you can "plug in" virtually anywhere in the house with a 10 ft patch cord!).I have my own OUI so that gives me a bit of obscurity but, by the same token, uniquely identifies *my* stuff! (in the privacy world, you want to be COMMONPLACE,
*not* unique! :> )I've given serious consideration to painting the interior walls with aluminized paint to block "RF leakage" but fear that may eventually result in a problem -- someone trying to dial 911 from a cell phone and getting "no signal", etc.
So, the wireless appliances that I've been developing use proprietary protocols -- google can sniff away and not be able to identify anything (other than "something wacky happening in this vicinity"). Fortunately, this isn't done to confound google but, rather, to offer capabilities that existing protocols *don't* offer! (As such, it's not a "wasted effort" but, rather, an "essential effort")
Well, I just googled and there is something called SMTP Server / IP Address
How to Find My SMTP Server IP Address
Press enter. A command window will appear.
Type "ping," a space and then the name of your SMTP Server. For example, type "ping smtp.server.com" and press "Enter." The window will then try to contact the SMTP server by the IP address. It will say, "Pinging x.x.x.x with 32 bytes of data." The "x.x.x.x" will be the SMTP server's IP address.
So I'm debating whether I should put [ ] around the number and then it turns out, even without the [ ] there isn't enough room for the entire number!! Even thnough it's the standard length 3,2,3,3 = 11 plus 3 dots. So I removed the smtp value and put only the IP address, and sent it, and that didnt' work either.
SSID blocking will still deter the 99% (or more) of people who don't know how to detect it, or don't even know there's a network there. Still, I don't consider it worthwhile (security / usability tradeoff), and would not use it if better security is available.
[snip]
Yes. But so will a passphrase.
I find looking at SSID's that folks have chosen to be entertaining (using my little WiFi sniffer mentioned elsewhere).
"Penny's_Room" "Cornali_WiFi" "SSID-123" "MrStudley" etc.
People don't think about the sorts of information they "leak" with these voluntary choices!
My best friend in school had a license plate: FML mdd First Middle Last initial BIRTH mONTH ddAY
Really? So, you want everyone to know who you are and your birthdate? Give me a couple of tries and I can probably guess the year -- from your appearance and other things you leak about yourself! :<
Turn OFF PING BACK.
In case it isn't already off. Then ask your IP for a new address - which can be as simple as turning off your broadband router for five minutes.
John :-#)#
If you are worried, block the port and see what happens.
You are seeing outside devices the "[LAN access from remote] from
93.38.179.187:9000" part, using port 9000 the ":9000 " part and trying to connect to your child's sony playstation. Presumably he or she is playing a game on-line and there is some sort of interactive content, maybe voice or video message chat or something.Since your router appears to support UPNP, it is probably automatically opening connections on this port to allow network traffic like I described above (some sort of online in-game chat or something).
I don't think it is something to be too concerned about, but if you are concerned about this type of network traffic, you could either disable UPNP on your router or maybe disable port 9000 in the firewall rules (if the router supports this) of course this may disable the online gaming capability of the sony playstation, much to your childs' dismay.
Video games consoles that connect to the internet are likely sending all sorts of traffic back and forth through your router. You might try looking up what types of services typically use port 9000. I bet you find that it is a typical port used by sony playstions for on-line gaming. As everything from refrigerators to thermostats go online there will be much more unidentifiable traffic going through our routers.
Best of luck,
S Sinzig.
I disabled UPNP. I'll tell the kid to watch out for stuff not working.
I figured out a way to verify the time zone, and that's to watch the log for a new event, or to create a new event, like by trying to send an email (since I have all 5 kinds of events checked now).
So I did that a couple hours ago and the time that showed in the log was 7 minutes later than the current time!
I went out for a couple hours and when I tried it just now, the time the log showed was 11 minutes later than the current time.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
How do you know which one was right?
This is the current time...
The current time was my computer which has maybe never been wrong, but I checked it with my atomic clock, satellite clock whatever it is.
So, how was it 7 minutes later in the log than in reality? Later meaning it had not yet reached that time.
And why did that change to 11 minutes?
I've always hated colored light bulbs, ever since my pet rabbit Snooky was attacked by a gang of them.
My father died when I was little** but one of the last things my motehr said before I went off to college was, The girl has more to lose than the boy does by getting pregnant so it's at least half her responsibility not to get pregnant.
But a couple years later when it came up that I had had sex with girls, she sounded disapproving. Huh? So what did your advice mean? I don't remember if I reminded her of what she's said.
**And my uncle had a total of one conversation more than 2 sentences with me from the time I was 10, when we moved to his city, until 18, and that was by accident. Even less in other years.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.