Saturday, 27 September 2008

Wireless Signals going to War!

I have heard a lot of news about how easy it is to break into someone's wireless network but never thought about it twice. My new temporary flatmate thought it would be funny to switch off the wireless modem because I wouldn't tell him the password to my computer so I thought it would be interesting to check if the news are correct. Even though it would be wrong to break into other people's Wifi signals and I would never do such a thing! (honest :P), it would be interesting to switch my own router to WEP and see how easy it would be to breaking into WEP encryption which is used by a lot of people (44% in Seattle). The following are quite interesting:

KisMac3.

KisMac is the most capable program available. While it does not handle bonjour networks, its wireless capabilities far exceed those of both MacStumbler and iStumbler. Beyond the basic scanning, signal strength testing, and so on, KisMAC can use GPS systems much like MacStumbler. Furthermore, it is capable of loading maps internally, where you can plot hotspots visually.

Beyond this, KisMAC has one capability that puts it far and above the other programs: the ability to crack WEP keys. If you have a Airport card (not airport extreme, sadly), you can recover network packets and then crack the key using a variety of built-in methods. Those using ibooks and powerbooks don’t need to despair though: KisMAC can use USB prism2 based cards, which are the best for this purpose anyway. Using these methods, it is possible to gain access to networks for which you do not know the password. I don’t advise this though, breaking into networks without authorization is illegal. Still, if you forget your WEP password for your router (as I have done), then this ability is VERY handy.


So this software creates a map of all the wireless network in the proximity and display it on a map, after which you can obtain the WEP code. On top of that I also stumbled upon a lot of "stumbers".

I know WEP encryption is poor but this is ridiculous. Other interesting facts were revealed during some "wardriving" (when driving to find free wireless network) exercise carried out by 100 undergraduate student in Seattle. It was found that "44% were secured with WEP encryption, 52% were open, and 3% were pay-for-access. They noticed trends in the frequency and security of the networks depending on location. Many of the open networks were clearly intended to be used by the general public, with network names like "Open to share, no porn please" or "Free access, be nice." The information was collected into high-resolution maps, which were published online."

And then I came across some stuff that could dissect the wireless going between wireless interfaces. Wow! I wonder that they could do!

All that thanks to my weird new flatmate turning off the wireless signal. Its nice to learn something new, who knows it might all come in handy one day. Like a condom, its better to have it and not needing it than to need it and not having it.

Turned out that my Apple Airport Extreme Extreme with Broadcom chipset is not supported by KisMac so need to investigate other options; Found this very interesting conversation from a guy needing to buy a Prism2 USB which is required by KisMac to work. The guy refused to divulge what purpose he had but he was busted by another reader:

Question: "I need a Prism2 USB adapted to work with a specific program that doesn't support the AirPort card."
Answer: "The only programs that it would matter to would be WiFi sniffers..."

And amazingly, I think I have a Belkin F5D7050 lying around the house somewhere. This is getting very interesting!

Also learned how to do the same thing for other platforms, how it works and ways to beef up the security in a wifi connection. Interestingly, it compares transmitted data package to work out a common denominator to produce the required key code. During the Second World War, the code for Nazi's Enigma Machine was broke in similar fashion by the Operation Ultra with Alan Turing (from Manchester no less, his statue can be found in Sackville Garden next to Canal Street), the grandfather of the very first conceptual computer (Colossus) and modern day computers which revolutionise our daily lifes. Similar words within a Nazi transmission, like weather reports which starts with the same prefixes, were used as baselines to derive decryption techniques at Bletchley Park, the home of intellectual elite selected to aid the British Intelligence's decryption effort. One of the quickest decryption was down to a German operator sending the same message twice while forgetting to change the key code. The breaking of the code was ultimate the reason for the Allied's success at Operation Overlord after the Nazi were fed falsified information in regards to the point of entry for the invasion. The operation was so successful that Hitler was still convinced that the real attack is to happen elsewhere and gave stand off orders to the nearby Panzer Reserve. Another genius in the Operation Market is that it's point of attack is that Normandy was chosen because that is where the weakest troops were deployed:
Two Infantry Division which were considered "unfit for active duty". If Hitler were to have given the green to the release of the Panzer-Lehr Division comprising SS Troops, Hitler Youth, and their Tiger tanks, they would have kicked the shit out of the landing party, closed off the invasion and delay an Allied victory for many years.

Operation Fortitude and Overlord were gorgeous! Shame about the over-ambitious Market Garden that followed! :D

I guess at the end of the day its all the same, if WEP can be fooled using the same techique to bring down Hitler then its not really worth having to protect your Wifi. Its all about WPA2 these days! :D

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Wednesday, 10 September 2008

More Tools for Engineering

More ideas on the application of Web 2.0 technology and other IT tools to further improve efficiency in an engineering environment:


RSS Feeds/Podcasts

Stands for Really Simple Syndication, a relatively new web feed format which have been adopted by major corporations to increase its efficiency in data transfer. The orange “RRS” logo is quite a common feature to news related websites such as BBC, Sky News, This system allows the publisher to syndicate their work to its aimed audience in a quick, easy and automated fashion. For the readers, it allows multiple feeds to be delivered to the same client software, eliminating the need for the users to go through multiple websites for updates. What separates RSS from the classic email newsletter system is that it can be applied to a website and program to extrapolate new contents and direct the data to the audience in a highly efficient data stream. By applying such a system, company news, update on industry regulations and other data can be delivered to each member of staff via a stand-alone software client, easily customised to suit the needs and purpose of the user. Due to the versatility of such system, RSS has been adopted and modified to deliver alternative media formats such as video and audio files. The best example is the prolific spread of the “podcasts” system currently popularised by BBC Radio and other radio stations, where broadcasted shows are delivered to subscribing listeners. Such systems can be implemented to deliver industrial speeches, conferences and seminar allowing members of Mouchel to be better informed. In the world of engineering, where success hinges on the ability to monitor and adapt to changes, the ability to deliver relevant breaking news to its member would play a key role in its ability to face upcoming changes.

http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/dive-into-xml.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3223484.stm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/directory/


Additional Information Technology and Networking Ideas

Apart from the application of Web 2.0 technologies, Mouchel can also enhances its performance capabilities using other up and coming mobile technologies.

3G mobile broadband technology has already been adopted by a few employees in the office. Mouchel would have a lot to gain, especially for its travelling members and site workers if more supports are given to this technology.

http://www.three.co.uk/personal/products_services_/mobile_broadband_/index.omp

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-broadband/

Due to the nature of the work carried out by engineers, it is often useful to have small program to carry out short calculations such as units conversion and access to physical constants. The solution to this could be a Widget Toolbox System which offers a wide selection of small program aimed to perform the above similar tasks. The advantage of having widgets is that such system is seamlessly integrated into the OS user interface and can be easily called up by the user without the hassle of loading time. All the widgets are contained within an isolated area which can be hidden and redisplayed with a click of a button. The widgets will also leave relatively small footprints in term of memory and CPU cycle consumption. Such systems have already been integrated as native feature on systems like Windows Vista, Linux and Mac OS X to much appraisal from its users and it can also be downloaded and installed on XP systems as an add-on.

http://widgets.yahoo.com/

http://widgets.opera.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widget_toolkit

One of the major downside in any multitasking OS is that the workspace will eventually becomes cluttered and the switching between different applications and documents becomes confusing and difficult. One solution to this problem is the Virtual Desktop whereby users can categorise and allocate different program windows into different workspaces based on their own method of work and switch between the workspace when needed. This system would allow the users to speed their workflow and reduce the amount of time navigating through the maze of opened and minimised windows. Such systems have already been integrated as native feature on systems like Linux and Mac OS X to much appraisal from its users and it can also be downloaded and installed on XP system as an add-on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_desktop

http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/

http://www.shelltoys.com/virtual_desktop/

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