Off-Topic: Is WiFi secure for tax work

[DTS]

I would like to consider using WiFi in my home for work, but have heard stories about people driving by your home and snatching information from the street. Would you share your thoughts with me about this? Probably, a very dumb question, but I suspect many of you use it and I'd like your input.

Thank you.

D

[John of PA]

To log into what your doing, they would have to know the Wifi password.

[geekgirldany]

My internet connection is setup at home and I have a wireless router where I can connect at the office. My office is down from my home. You have to make sure it is secure and set with a password. I am not concerned with someone getting into my system. If a person is determined they could hack the password... just like hacking into you email account. War drivers are looking for open access points with no passwords.

[ATSMAN]

MAC Filtering

I prefer a wired network for tax/accounting related work. Some tax software like ATX is not recommending a wireless network.

If you must use a wireless network make sure you use encryption and MAC filtering to prevent unauthorized people from connecting to your network. Remember nothing is 100% hacker proof but you can make it difficult to hack your system.

[DTS]

WiFi

Thank you all for responding. I'll check with Drake and see if there is a problem using it. I'm not sure this is the route I'm going, but I'd like the option.

D

[David1980]

As long as it's secured with WPA I don't see a risk from the casual drive by. The far greater risk is you letting a client log into your wireless network with their ipad or laptop. Performance might be an issue depending on distance and layout.

[Roberts]

As long as it's secured with WPA I don't see a risk from the casual drive by.

If using the security system WPA or WEP, it is far more likely the data would be stolen as it is bouncing around the internet than the burst from your computer to the router.

Also, a wireless printer is likely far more vulnerable than the wifi network for the internet.

[David1980]

If using the security system WPA or WEP, it is far more likely the data would be stolen as it is bouncing around the internet than the burst from your computer to the router.

Also, a wireless printer is likely far more vulnerable than the wifi network for the internet.

I misread that as if you were saying using wireless would cause local data to bounce around the internet. Instead I see you're talking about non-local network data being higher risk than local data with encryption. I would agree with that.

[Wiles]

Giving clients your wireless access code

The far greater risk is you letting a client log into your wireless network with their ipad or laptop.

What is the risk? This doesn't give them access to your server. All they can do is use our internet. I am not a techie, so I don't understand why this is a problem.

[spanel]

What is the risk? This doesn't give them access to your server. All they can do is use our internet. I am not a techie, so I don't understand why this is a problem.

Depending on how your router is setup, it will allow anyone to anything on your network.. including your server. Most routers will be setup this way.

Chris

[David1980]

What is the risk? This doesn't give them access to your server. All they can do is use our internet. I am not a techie, so I don't understand why this is a problem.

For me the big risk is if their laptop has a virus you've now exposed your network. One that got a lot of media attention not too long ago was crypto locker. It would encrypt files and then ask for payment to recover the encrypted files. No known work around other than restoring from a backup before the virus encrypted your files (or paying the ransom). If your tax software is being used on the network you may have open file shares - imagine if your tax software was encrypted and you lost access. A virus could also delete everything, upload data to whoever created the virus in a foreign country, or just cause annoyances (pop-up ads all over everything).

Probably most people running a tax office with their tax software shared to a few computers have just made open file shares in windows that anyone could connect to, if they gain network access. Even if there aren't open file shares there's potentially lots of vulnerabilities in software in general you're letting people expose their laptop (and viruses) to that you don't normally make available to would be hackers on the internet.

One thing people do who want to make internet available for others is to isolate the wireless from the rest of their network. Basically the wireless network wouldn't see the wired network and all the computers that need access to anything other than the internet are kept on the wired network.

[geekgirldany]

I've had clients come by with their laptops wanting to access the internet because of various reasons. I never give them access to the wireless network. For one you have given them the password and you hope they would not but it could allow anyone to access the the wireless network. Most routers have to be configured to not allow access from certain ports. Most are not by default. Just not a wise thing to do.

[Gary2]

Neither WPA nor WEP requires the network be connected to the internet. The encryption isn't internet based, happens at the wireless router level.

With wireless, with or without encryption, the wireless router does effectively broadcast all communication over the wireless network. In a wired network with computers 1, 2, and 3 when computer 2 is talking with computer 3 that traffic only gets routed to computer 2 and 3. In a wireless, without a physically separate wire to send the data to computers 1, 2, and 3 would all see that data. But computer G, some other random internet user, isn't going to see the traffic between computers 1, 2, 3 any more than they would if that internet user used a wired network in their home instead of a wireless.

I disagree.

First, though most modern setups use a router so that traffic only goes between the two computers that are talking, that isn't always the case.

More significantly, computer G is going to see all of the traffic among computers 1,2, and 3. It will just be encrypted.

The main risk seems to be brute force attacks. I suggest looking at http://arstechnica.com/security/2012...asily-cracked/ for a not-too-technical discussion of what was involved. Basically, because we don't get feedback from routers concerning potential attacks, it's not too difficult for someone to check a billion passwords against the router.

The moral of the story is to pick good passwords for the router. Since you rarely need to type them, make them long, make them non obvious (don't use plain phrases or sentences), and use letters or signs in ways that don't match common text message uses (so-called l33tspeak).

[David1980]

More significantly, computer G is going to see all of the traffic among computers 1,2, and 3. It will just be encrypted.

I don't think we're talking about the same thing. Computer G being some other random internet user could be located anywhere on the planet. I think you're talking about someone physically near who is within range of my wireless router (perhaps a neighbor) - not a random internet user.

[geekgirldany]

Here is a good explanation on how it all works:

http://askleo.com/if_i_let_my_neighbor_share_my_wifi_can_they_see_my_network_traffic/