Bit OT: Wifi security (Nintendo DS / WEP encryption)

[Lobster]

Following up my recent post on connecting various networking gear to my lighting circuit...

As part of my forthcoming network-revamp, I'd like to try and solve the ongoing problem of one of my kids' Nintendo DS games console not being able to use our wi-fi (for online gaming etc). The issue is that the DS is unable to use WPA encryption, and can only use WEP; and no way am I prepared to use WEP for my general home wifi network. This is a well-known issue on the internet chat rooms - I strongly suspect that part of the reason Nintendo haven't sorted it is that they sell an expensive DS-dedicated wi-fi dongle, so why would they?

What I'm considering now is setting up a separate, WEP wifi network at home, in parallel to the existing WPA one. I know my current router (Linksys WRT54G) doesn't support dual networks, so I'm thinking of ebaying a cheapo, obsolete WEP-only wireless access point to plug into my existing router, and setting up a new wifi network which only the Nintendo would use. (Much better than a dongle too, which requires a PC to be switched on.)

eg: ebay ref 120550441898

Reality check time - is this sensible? will it work? are there any gotchas? The only one I can think of is that I'd potentially be vulnerable to a neighbour hacking into the WPA network and downloading child p*rn via my internet connection... that's a risk I'd be prepared to run, but I'm not about to risk exposing my netwprked computers to attack via WPA. So, have I got this right? :-)

Thanks David

[fred]

In article <gkotn.95791$ [e-mail]>, Lobster [e-mail] writes

Nice try but . . .

With the greatest respect to your helpful posts here, posting questions like this here is wholly inappropriate, please look/post elsewhere.

Despite the broad knowledgebase here uk.d-i-y is not 24hr-helpdesk.

[Steve Walker]

It's reasonably practical. See if your router will allocate a different sub-net or route it within DMZ, and use MAC locking as previously suggested.

[Dave Liquorice]

Get rid of the DS and get a DSi or DSi XL both support WPA... Though there is a gotcha. any DS games that utilise the WiFi won't work with WPA only WEP. The DS browser will work with WPA. DSi games work with WPA.

[Huge]

I used to build my own firewalls on Solaris, but I too have changed over to a Smoothwall and been quite impressed.

One trick I discovered which isn't in the doco is that if you make the Smoothwall the DNS server for your home net, then log onto it and edit the /etc/hosts file, everything in that file becomes available through DNS, almost as if you had a local domain. That way, you don't even have to maintain hosts files for your local network.

[Perry (News)]

On 30 Apr 2010 14:42:12 GMT, Huge waxed lyrical about:

That's a useful tip, and I believe that there's also an add-on that automatically adds the name of any device that gets a DHCP address from the Smoothie to the hosts file - combine the two and you don't even have the hassle of maintaining the hosts file :-)

The Blackhole DNS is a worthwhile add on too - you can edit its redirect file so that, if you've got an internal web server, you can redirect requests for dodgy pages to your own 'Sorry kids, you shouldn't be looking at that' page

[Huge]

Ooh, I didn't know about that. I'll have to get that one. Thank you.

I downloaded one of those "these people are all spammers" hosts files and appended it to the one on the Smoothwall, so all those poxy banner adverts just get replaced with errors. Ditto all the tracking sites.

[Dave Liquorice]

None of tne DS or DSi consols have ethernet, they don't even have USB (IIRC). It's further complicated by the fact that even though the DSi supports WPA games written for the DS (which also run on the DSi) can't use those connections, only WEP ones.

The WiFi side of the DS/DSi is a right mess TBH.

[spamlet]

Sounds like they have you over a barrel - and very complicated. I often find it irritating to find how little connectivity is provided - generally only discovered after you've bought something and looked for the plug hole!

Sorry not to have been more help.

S