Wifi and security.

[Jistme]

I'm using Wifi with my iPad, not that I'm sending out anything important over the internet, but how secure are my messages to the recipients?

Would it be possible for someone to easily pick up my messages…don't mean to sound paranoid, well maybe just a little.

Thanks to the tech-savvy for a response.

[Mx_Flwr]

talk to a telmex internet representative, he will show you step by step how to make your access extra-secure.

[ComputerGuy]

Yes, follow that advice, and don't worry. The standard protection on TelMex's current modems is very secure. Contrary to popular belief, there are very few (if any, especially here) lurkers hanging around your house with specialized tools trying to break in to your setup.

[Jistme]

Phew! Thanks guys, I'll sleep better tonight, haha.

[LakeViews]

Make sure you use a password on your wifi.

[ComputerGuy]

Just a note... in order to NOT use a wifi password with a TelMex modem (or any modem), you'd have to know enough to get inside the software and actually turn it off. So generally speaking, the average user has no choice.

[lcscats]

I agree with computer guy. Password on Telmex/Telecable modems is on the bottom of modem.

[ComputerGuy]

When did they start putting the wifi passwords on the bottom of Telecable modems, lcscats? One of my biggest problems with Telecable is lack of information from them, and their random assignation of security codes for wifi.

[ichbinsaege]

If you want it really secure, you need to go into the modem and change the password from the one that is on the bottom of the modem. At one point my interent was really lagging, so I went I to the modem to find out that the print shop across the street from me was using my wifi! There are indeed apps out there for both android and iOS that will crack basic wifi passwords. I blocked the guy from using my wifi and changed the password. And then I watched outside as he realized his free internet was gone.

Call Telmex, ask for someone who speaks English and they will help walk you through it.

[LakeViews]

I use a custom name and password. Advertising the brand of the router/modem makes it easy for someone else to login with the default admin password. Using the password on the bottom of the router is not the best option... Also be aware that resetting some routers with a paper clip in the back may reset the modem to a password free state....

[ComputerGuy]

Your own password is no more or less effective than the one on the bottom of the modem, seriously. You want better protection? Get into the modem software and hide the SSID. Again, something the average Josephine has no idea how to do. By the way, there is no default password for TelMex modems other than the WPA key. Also, resetting the TelMex modem to factory using a pin in the back hole does not set it to a password-free state.

[LakeViews]

Anyone inside your home can look at the bottom of the modem and see the password. Not the safest path.

Telecable uses TP-Link which do have default admin passwords.

[snowyco]

Cableguy: Do your services include going to someone's house, connecting to their router, and setting up new usernames, new passwords, new network security keys, and hiding the SSID? Plus, getting their computers and wireless devices re-connected to the freshly configured router?

That could be the security blanket and reassurance that Jistme and others are looking for.

I know that I can see my neighbors routers, and as old WEP routers, a friend handed me a box that cracks the security keys in about 5 minutes. Not a common thing, but they're out there.

[ComputerGuy]

Anyone inside your home can look at the bottom of the modem and see the password. Not the safest path.

That's absolutely correct. And as a wild guess, exactly how often do you suppose that happens. Like, maybe, um... never?

[ComputerGuy]

Cableguy: Do your services include going to someone's house, connecting to their router, and setting up new usernames, new passwords, new network security keys, and hiding the SSID? Plus, getting their computers and wireless devices re-connected to the freshly configured router?

That could be the security blanket and reassurance that Jistme and others are looking for.

I know that I can see my neighbors routers, and as old WEP routers, a friend handed me a box that cracks the security keys in about 5 minutes. Not a common thing, but they're out there.

To answer your question: Yep, they do.

And cracking security keys is something that just happens so rarely, especially here, that it's not even worth thinking about. Just purchasing the tools necessary, via the Dark Web, costs a fortune. And to do it manually, using software and a laptop, takes a lot of juice and a lot of talent to set up... then, of course, you have to consider that some guy with that kind of talent isn't going to be sitting outside my house stealing my WiFi. Furthermore, just getting access to WiFi does not get you instant access to the network. That requires more trickery.

And let's just say they do get direct access to your files. How many of us have anything worth stealing? How many files would a person have to go through to stumble across the place where you might have written down your credit card number and pin and password?

There is just no need to live in a state of fear about these things.

[Xena]

Thank you for being the voice of reason, CG.

[LakeViews]

That's absolutely correct. And as a wild guess, exactly how often do you suppose that happens. Like, maybe, um... never?

Good to know the odds are slim, I'll just put the combination to my safe on a post it note on the handle...

[ComputerGuy]

Call me when you have done that.

[cbviajero]

The park down the street from my house in Guadalajara has wifi provided by telmex, can I access it without having a telmex account?

[ComputerGuy]

No, you must sign in with your TelMex user ID and password. The password is not the key found on your modem. It is normally assigned to you when you sign up for a new account, although the last few years, you have to ask at sign-up time.

"Para conectarte a un sitio WiFi Móvil en infinitum, sólo proporciona los datos de tu cuenta Mi Telmex. Si aún no la tienes regístrate aquí.

Si olvidaste o no conoces tu contraseña llama al *2222, al 01 800 123 22 22 o entra a Mi Telmex."

[cbviajero]

Thanks CG.

[lcscats]

Listen to ComputerGuy about hiding your modem. Also a couple of different types of security older one can be broken easily compared to newer scheme. Hiding your modem which means you have to know name to get on and is the safest method most secure method. For most folks if they can't see your modem they can't mess with you. Exception exist as CG said but we are talking about security computer engineers which are pretty rare lakeside.

Also I think we are confusing account stuff and modem stuff. The number on the bottom of Telmex/Telecable box is the one that you type in when you set up a wifi connection. CG what is the account stuff about? I just plug my lan cable into the modem. What am I missing in this discussion?

[ComputerGuy]

lcscats, TelMex offers free wifi throughout Mexico as long as you have an Infinitum account. So when you find a park or airport with a WiFi ID of Infinitum Movil, you can sign on. But you require a user ID and password. In the "old days" everybody was given these at signup, along with a prodigy.net.mx email account, and the ID and passwords were used for your email. That same info is required to Movil. BUT they don't give that info anymore unless you ask at sign-up, because these days all the modems have a default account. The password information is hidden from the user, even if you get into the modem software. This basically keeps Tech Support from fielding thousands of calls every day from people trying to log onto their Internet, because even after a factory reset, the information is maintained in the modem's software.

So, someone discovering the free WiFi service in the park is instantly disappointed to learn they have no idea what their personal Infinitum account ID and password are. Thus, using those links and numbers I found on their website will allow you to do this right now, so you are prepared.

And for the rest, you are correct. The 10-digit key printed on the modem is both a wireless security key and a password for logging into the modem's web-based software, but has nothing to do with your personal Infinitum account. That key stays with the modem, wherever you take it. So if you move to a new house, but bring your modem (as long as you have Internet at the new house), nothing will change regarding the modem. You will still get Internet, and you will still use the key printed on the side for WiFi.

NOTE that TelMex modems also have WPS, which is WiFi Protected setup, buttons on them. Now, with many devices, this means in your house you don't even have to know the key. You press the button, and your device senses the WiFi, and automatically picks up and connects. This is perfectly safe, because that button has to be pushed and only lasts for a minute or two, so any WiFi thief would have to have someone on the inside and the outside, to get it to work for them.

[FESchultz]

And cracking security keys is something that just happens so rarely, especially here, that it's not even worth thinking about. Just purchasing the tools necessary, via the Dark Web, costs a fortune. And to do it manually, using software and a laptop, takes a lot of juice and a lot of talent to set up... then, of course, you have to consider that some guy with that kind of talent isn't going to be sitting outside my house stealing my WiFi. Furthermore, just getting access to WiFi does not get you instant access to the network. That requires more trickery.

ComputerGuy, when I go into my Infinitum modem/router, I can see that there are a number of wireless devices using it in addition to our own wireless devices. There are young kids who hang out on our street with cell phones using the Internet, and I don't think they are sophisticated but I suspect they are the ones somehow using our wireless service.

1. I have gone into the modem and changed the encryption from WEP to WPA-PSK and created a new 10-character encryption key.

2. I have deleted the unknown devices, but they quickly reappear the next night.

3. I've tried changing the "allow new devices" option from "new stations are allowed automatically" to "new stations are not allowed" and to "new stations are allowed via registration", but those latter two options bombed out our own wireless devices. (I had to connect with the ethernet cable to reset the option to "new stations are allowed automatically."

I'll try hiding the SSID as has been suggested, but my point is that somehow my supposedly "secured" modem is quite readily being hacked. And I imagine all those unknown devices (there are 11 on the "detected devices" list, although only 2 actively connected at the moment) probably have the SSID already.

[snowyco]

OG, are you familiar with and comfortable with changing settings in your router's software?

It sounds like it is time to change your SSID - keep that new SSID hidden - and also change your network security key at the same time - and then follow CG's instructions on reconnecting your machines with your newly configured router/modem.

Since you will have your new SSID and new security keys, you can either enter the updated information manually into your own wirelessly-connected computers, or use the "push the button" method that CG described.