Tim: (regarding access points buried in the basement)
> Though you're only going by the ordinary antenna in your
gear. A
> better antenna may be more than enough to still work with a muffled
> signal. So this isn't a trick that you want to rely on.
Mikkel L. Ellertson:
Not a trick you want to rely on, but one that may add a bit more
protection. Remember, the access point still has to be able to
receive your signal, and make it out. With the access point below
ground level, it rends to frustrate most attackers. Add a
directional antenna to the router, and it frustrates them more.
While I am not relying on it for security, only 2 houses can get
line-of-site with my router with the standard antenna. And only from
the second story on the side closest to my place.
While it may help with a home network, and stopping the hopeless next
door hacker. You wouldn't want to try that with a network that really
needs protecting. All a hacker would have to do would be plant another
access point between them and you, somewhere that bridged the two
together.
I'm still surprised WLAN works as well as it does, considering how you
may be in a densely populated area, with lots of different wireless
devices all trying to use the same few channels. I work in video
production, walkie talkies and wireless microphones are enough of a
headache in that regard.
Only a couple of years ago we made everyone in a *nearby* restaurant
stand up for the national anthem sung over a wireless microphone, from
our sporting event a couple of hundred metres away. They were told to
stand, and they did, not really knowing why, looking all around them
trying to figure it out. A few minutes later someone came over in a
hurry to sort out changing channels. Previously, we'd never had our
wireless systems on at the same time.
--
[tim@localhost ~]$ uname -r
2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686
Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I
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