How easy is it to hack a password protected home wireless system.?

Yes it is possible to find the key to encrypted wireless networks. There is actually programs that are out there that are specifically made to find the key to encrypted wireless networks but it takes some knowledge in the operating system Linux.

The good part is that there is not many people that truly understand the inner workings of this operating system with the knowledge on how to do this successfully compared to how many people are on the Internet. The bad part is, Without proper configuration of your network, your at serious risk.There is different types of network protocols that have different difficulty's in breaking the encryption though and it also matters on your configuration on your network. The most common and most vulnerable (without proper configuration) is 802.11b.

I advise you to take a look at

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/support/wirele...

This should give you a pretty good understanding of what you should do with your wireless router. If someone does get access to your network, they can use your Internet connection and view the information your sending across it like credit card numbers, web pages and even this information your viewing on this web page exactly as you see it now. But if you set up your network to only allow your computers to use your network via the MAC address (a string that is unique to your network card), you will be ok.

For your security of your computer, I advise you to make sure you have all available updates and you use a firewall. ( http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/f/firewall.html ). A firewall will prevent the bad guys from doing nasty things to your computer and some software firewalls can even stop unauthorized programs from connecting to the Internet. I recommend using a program called Zonealarm. It is free, easy to use and I personally think it is more secure than the Microsoft firewall. I suggest you download it and give it a try. http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/prod...

On one note though, when you decide to create a password, make sure it contains numbers and letters so it is harder to figure out. Also, the longer the password is, the harder it is to guess. A good number to shoot for is 8 or more letters and numbers for a good password.

I'm sorry if there may be any typos in my answer as I typed this late at night but i hope this answers your questions you may have had.

If you're using a WEP or WPA encrypted network, it'll take him some time before he can crack the password, since he'd most likely try and brute-force his way in (counting up until they hit the right password). If you've got a long WEP or WPA key, especially a passcode, it can take upwards of several days to crack. There are several programs that can do this, and any competent hacker can write a program to do it as well. Then, once he's on the network, it's just a matter of establishing what workgroup your systems are on (very easy; log into the router, it'll tell you), and bingo, the data is his. It's always easiest to attack a newtwork directly.

As for "packet sniffing" all your network traffic (the indirect approach), it's almost useless to do, since it is encrypted and there's way too much interference at 2.4xxGHz to get reliable results. It can theoretically be done, but the decryption process just to get a handfull of packets that contain bits and pieces of data, just isn't fruitful.

Personally, I'd just assign a longer passcode-type WEP Key, restrict which users can access my computer (win XP/2k/NT), and leave it be; or just switch to Linux, and then you'll just have to worry about your internet connection if it's broadband. And if your router can run Linux, you're safe all around as long as it's set-up properly.

Well I got my wireless laptop just a few months ago I had to look into this myself.

There are two security schemes, WEP and WPA. WEP is total garbage don't use it. There are programs that can crack WEP over time. On the other hand WPA is secure. Just make sure you choose a decent password. It should be long and a little random.

Also any secure protocall you use like SSL would work even if you were using no wireless security. But of course, you really should have wireless security.

I'm not going into how to configure your router and PC...

Hope that helps.

To get in through a "well protected" wireless connection is VERY difficult, if not impossiable. But MOST hackers get in through the Internet by users that let them in. IE. going to a bad site, opening a bad link in an e-mail. and MANY other ways.

To help protect your computer and your data install and use all the following Free programs. And remember YOU are your computers best defense.

I use all of the following Free software with Windows XP SP2 and Internet Explorer with MSN toolbar and the pop-up blocker turned on and have never had a single problem with my computer sense Microsoft came out with SP2. (knock on wood.) (And be sure to keep Windows and the following software Updated)

The best Anti-virus is: AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. (www.grisoft.com)

The Best Spyware defense is: SpyBot Search and Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html)%3C-... version

AND: AdAware SE (www.lavasoft.com)

AND Spyware Blaster (http://www.javacoolsoftware.info/kb/)

The best Firewall besides the one that comes with Windows is: Zone Alarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/co... or just (www.zonelabs.com) and select the FREE version.

These are all FREE and are all that are required. There is no reason to pay for this kind of software, except to give a donation to the writers if you can.

ALL the above programs are recommended and should be run on a regular basis. With some the free versions they must be run manually.

The best way to avoid getting any Malware (virus, Trojan's, spyware, etc) is to practice safe computing. Microsoft and many others have countless articles on the subject of safe computing. (something I think should be taught in schools)

for further information on computer safety. http://all.net/journal/50/cybercop.html

BeLiaL has it mostly correct. Then, there is the WPA that you use the MAC of each ethernet device to log in. There are billions of them! So, it is more difficult to crack!

ANd all factory defaults for administration passwords are published on the Internet for all the wifi and router/firewall devices sold.

Those are some reasons the most secure systems use an older computer, and an installation of IPCOP as the firewall for wifi/cable/DSL/modem access for networks of up to 30 clients!

http://ipcop.org/ and it is FREE!

As for the Linux, it is FREE! and I am running it now, from a LiveCDrom, so it cannot be attacked, or, hacked!

There is NO hard drive in the Duron 1300 here, and I can save to my yahoo, gmail, mail accounts, in messages to myself, and/or as attachments!

sorry, I just wanted to contest an earlier answer.... I don't believe it's illegal if they didn't secure the system. It's not breaking or entering or stealing if they didn't even try to protect. unless they changed the laws.... As a side point, the owner of the system can track what you do, what keys you enter, etc. unless you encrypt them and even then.... so don't enter any private stuff you wouldnt want someone else to read/share. To get into your laptop itself, well, if you've got everything ready with security software, then only a good hacker will get in.

Depends how high security you had opted for.

128bit or higher.

You need to monitor the incoming traffic and the number of illegal hacking attempt.

Hacker just need to run a script to login, and attempt all possible combination. (ie 64-bit - WEP: 10 digits password: 0000000000 to ffffffffff)

This is called a brute attack, the password can be easily cracked depending on the machine it used.

If you can detect such intrusion (from log monitor daemons), alert you of the attack and change the password, and the hacker efforts would be in vain.

Depends on your routers, there are specific log monitor daemon for different hardware.

fast, easy, and illegal.

edit:

Yes it is easy – just ignore the deluded n00b below.

No. It isn't easy.

But, it's not impossible, either.

yes they can