A Little Wireless Security Advice?

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Tarvos wrote on 2011-07-30 08:08

I'm wondering if anyone could answer my question. Is there any benefits to using MAC Filtering AND Encryption? Specifically I'm using WPA2/WPA Mixed Mode right now, as it's the best encryption my router supports aside from it's Enterprise mode which I can't use.

I've read articles that say it's better to just have encryption like WPA, but I'm wondering if using it along with encryption is a good idea. Kind of like having another line of defense?

I'm no security expert sadly, so I'm hoping someone can enlighten me.
Vinhthehero wrote on 2011-07-30 08:25

I say it wouldn't hurt. Although there are some ways to get pass mac filtering like spoofing your mac address, but I suggest you add your home network devices to the white list. This means you must grab the mac address of all devices that connects to your router. For someone to actually get through your router illegally, they must know the mac address of one of the ones on your white list.
Ninjam wrote on 2011-07-30 08:54

If this is for a buisness im sure they have rules and stuff for all the wireless settings.

If this is for protecting your home network, usually wouldn't just using a password and encryptions be enough? I mean, i dont think that many people even know what a mac address is let alone how to spoof one. Unless your carrying around sensitive data at home it shouldnt be needed.

Did you turn off broadcasting ssid and naming your network something hard to guess? That way your network name cant be seen by random people. Setting up mac filtering cant be bad i guess, except it will be a pain to add new devices as you will have to put in the passwords and check the mac address on every phone/laptop/computer/tv/game console you want to set up on the network.

As the person above says, it cant hurt to use it.
Tarvos wrote on 2011-07-30 09:08

Quote from Ninjam;531776:
If this is for a buisness im sure they have rules and stuff for all the wireless settings.

If this is for protecting your home network, usually wouldn't just using a password and encryptions be enough? I mean, i dont think that many people even know what a mac address is let alone how to spoof one. Unless your carrying around sensitive data at home it shouldnt be needed.

Did you turn off broadcasting ssid and naming your network something hard to guess? That way your network name cant be seen by random people. Setting up mac filtering cant be bad i guess, except it will be a pain to add new devices as you will have to put in the passwords and check the mac address on every phone/laptop/computer/tv/game console you want to set up on the network.

As the person above says, it cant hurt to use it.

There's ways around finding an SSID that's hidden. There's really no use in shutting it off, as it will just be inconvenient for me. Anyone serious about getting into someone's network can find it with a simple tool or program.

This is a home network, but, seeing as someone who lives upstairs from me is... Undesirable as a neighbor, I'd rather have as much security as I can with the options I have available. I'm usually the first person to say another is "paranoid" but, I feel better safe than sorry in this scenario.
Yoorah wrote on 2011-07-30 22:15

Do you need to run in mixed mode? Pure WPA2 with AES cipher will provide better security. A long password helps, too.

Enterprise mode just means it uses a login server instead of a pre-shared key. Doesn't really impact security in your case.
MAC filtering is also useless in your case; save your router some memory and CPU cycles by disabling it. :3
Tarvos wrote on 2011-07-31 05:51

Quote from Yoorah;532331:
Do you need to run in mixed mode? Pure WPA2 with AES cipher will provide better security. A long password helps, too.

Enterprise mode just means it uses a login server instead of a pre-shared key. Doesn't really impact security in your case.
MAC filtering is also useless in your case; save your router some memory and CPU cycles by disabling it. :3

I always assumed mixed mode was the better option for some reason. But yeah, thanks for answering my question about MAC.