Re: Was told by DSL tech support that

On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:04:23 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
<jeffl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
<5nkie2dlf25qitui57t0ovdtpmgi3js3gl@xxxxxxx>:

"Amanda" <amanda772008@xxxxxxxxx> hath wroth:

What's the different between setting up wireless network
via that set up page and setting it using Control Panel's "Wireless
Network Setup Wizard"?

More options. More control. More ways to screw things up. I've
never bother to even try the Windoze Network wizard.

Actually different functions. The router set up page configures the
router. Windows WNSW configures Windows.

The difference is that Comcast does NOT need a login and password, while
SBC does.

Is that difference just a part of technology applied or is that because
the ISP provider makes it that way?

Both. PPPoE does not in itself require a login and password. However,
PBI/SBC/AT&T wants the user to authenticate. This is a subtle
difference between the SBC system of authenticating the user, and
other systems of authenticating the connection (using the MAC
address). From RFC2516:

PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE) provides the ability to connect a network
of hosts over a simple bridging access device to a remote Access
Concentrator. With this model, each host utilizes it's own PPP stack
and the user is presented with a familiar user interface. Access
control, billing and type of service can be done on a per-user,
rather than a per-site, basis.

And that's the point -- as I wrote my earlier post to this thread, PPPoE
is typically set up this way so you can connect to different accounts,
or even to different providers.

At one time, Comcast was authenticating by MAC address, but now uses
the DOCSIS BPI (baseline privacy interface) which also encrypts
everything. In effect, they authenticate the cable modem, not the
user. The problem with this is if the modem dies, a replacement
doesn't automagically function without first calling support. This is
not the case with PPPoE, where any DSL modem will work. The PPPoE
login and passwd can be in buried in the modem or the router depending
on hardware supplied. Of course, all this authentication is
ridiculous because the DSL number is not portable and is automatically
authenticated by the wiring at the CO (central office) to the DSLAM
(digital subscriber line access multiplexor). This is one reason why
I think PPPoE sucks.

Not so ridiculous: I've seen a couple of enterprise deployments where
the multi-connect capability of PPPoE is used to create a virtual
extension of the enterprise LAN, where one login is used to connect to
AT&T/SBC/PBI as an ISP, and another different login is used to connect
to the enterprise LAN (without connecting to AT&T/SBC/PBI as an ISP).
This arguably provides better convenience and security than connecting
to the enterprise LAN through AT&T/SBC/PBI. So it's not that
AT&T/SBC/PBI wants the user to authenticate, it's that the user needs to
select the connection.

If you left the SSID at the default, it would be "2wireXXX" where XXX
are the last 3 digits of the MAC address. There's nothing sacred
about this SSID. If you changed it, there's no problem. However, I
would not set it to the user account login name.

I don't think that would really matter -- the user account login name
isn't secure -- what matters is the password.

I would have gone
back to the "http://home"; page and checked if I were nto terribly tired
at the time. Now no one is at home over that house to open the door.

If you had a wireless laptop, you could sit outside the house and hack
your way in. The fun part is explaining to the police what you're
doing sitting in a car, late at night, pounding on a laptop.

Fairly easy to mask what's going on so nobody gets concerned.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
.

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