enabling wpa on windows xp.pptVIP

Enabling WPA on Windows XP: Robert C. Jones, M.D. LtCol, USAF, Medical Corps Staff Anesthesiologist Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland E-mail: rob — at — notbob — dot — com Web site: Note: presentation best viewed as slide show Update (6 Sep 04) This presentation was written prior to Microsoft’s release of Windows XP service pack 2; Rob is still evaluating the effect of SP2 on wireless networking on several computers, and will update these slides Real Soon Now. Until then, consider these slides to refer to Windows XP SP1, and, as always, please remain calm. If you have no idea what this presentation is about… …then you need to read my extensive discussion of Wireless Internet INsecurity here: This presentation assumes some knowledge of the basics of wireless security and some competence with computers (i.e., more than just the ability to turn them on) Why Windows XP and not Mac, Unix, BSD, Linux, Amiga…? People who use Windows (of any kind) need more help Most Windows users don’t RTFM: read the fine manual Windows XP makes WPA much harder than it has to be Windows XP has the largest installed base All legal disclaimers in my original talk apply to this addendum Brief introduction to WPA WPA = “WiFi? Protected Access” Quick fix to broken initial wireless security method, WEP (= “Wired Equivalent Protocol”) Why is WEP broken? For the full explanation, see my original talk. Here’s the executive summary: WEP standard implements RSA Security’s RC4 encryption improperly: /rsalabs/node.asp?id=2009 Flaws in key scheduling algorithm? Large number of weak keys ? encryption easily cracked Initialization vector (IV) is sent in the clear with each chunk– subtract 24 bits of IV from encryption key length (so advertised “128 bit” security is really only 104 bits…more bits good, fewer bits bad, so this is bad) As a result, attackers can sniff the information going across your WEP-protected network and crack the security in hours to days, depending on the age of you