page 3 of 3
What About WPA2 Enterprise Security?
WPA2 Enterprise security is more secure, but it’s also quite involved. WPA2 password cracking is accomplished by stealing the encrypted password and the key to decrypt it. The cracking tool does a brute force attack on the password until it is cracked. WPA2 Enterprise uses a different password for each user. It also uses an external RADIUS server for authentication. This makes it a little more difficult to hack, however, it can still be done.
Setting up WPA2 Enterprise security takes a bit of effort, and it can still be hacked. It’s just easier to use a long, random password. Let the hacker’s computer melt down trying to brute force 20+ characters of random ASCII text. The longer password is much less of a hassle than WPA2 Enterprise security. The main benefit of WPA2 Enterprise is that each user has his/her own password. Corporations like to track their employees, after all.
Whitelist Specific MAC Addresses
Every wireless device has a specific MAC address. It’s a long, hexidecimal number that uniquely identifies a wireless device. Many routers can limit access to specific MAC addresses. Unfortunately, a capable hacker can also clone a MAC address. Once again, this solution is a hassle and doesn’t really solve the problem. It may thwart the inexperienced hacker, however, a long, strong password will definitely stymie the crook.
Don’t Bother Retaliating
If you are the victim of WiFi theft, you may want to confront the thief. I don’t recommend doing this. If you changed your password to something strong and long, s/he won’t be able to steal your WiFi anymore. Although that’s not punishment enough, there’s no sense in risking your personal safety. Someone who steals WiFi has demonstrated some level of sociopathy. The best thing you can do is to ignore such people. Dealing with these people is like struggling in quicksand. They may even turn themselves into the victim. I know who stole my WiFi and they’re horrible people. If I confronted them, they would use mental gymnastics to shift the blame onto me. Their reasoning would be cockamamie, and may provide some entertainment value, but I’d be stepping into the quicksand of sociopathy.
When I found my WiFi was being stolen, I Googled how to do a denial of service attack on their WiFi adapters. I quickly decided that I wouldn’t head down that road. I don’t want to sink to their level. Ironically, it may be illegal to do this, even if they hacked into my network. Tech savvy individuals often torment the thieves who hack into their WiFi routers. There are some very funny stories. But in the end, it’s not a good use of your time. These thieves haven’t just stolen your WiFi, they have also stolen your time. The slow downloads, buffering pauses and other network bottlenecks cost you time. If you retaliate, they win, in a way. They’re stealing more of your time. Just move on. You may want to inform your neighbors and tell them how they can beat the WiFi thief. The ultimate punishment would be for the thieves to actually have to pay for Internet access. If everyone in your neighborhood uses strong passwords, that will be the culprits’ only choice.