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WIndows Has Holes In WiFi
John Stith
Staff Writer
2006-01-17
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
As if Microsoft hasn't had enough security problems in their software in recent months, a new vulnerability has come. Hackers could potentially exploit the Windows feature that automatically searches for WiFi connection.
Security researcher and self-professed hacker Mark Loveless announced the discovery at the ShmooCon on Saturday. Loveless claimed the vulnerability could allow hackers full access to a user's PC including the peer-to-peer network. This would give the hacker fingers into the hard drive.
The way the system works now is when a PC with Windows XP or 2000 boots, it automatically tries to connect to a wireless network. CNET explained it well:
When a PC running Windows XP or Windows 2000 boots up, it will automatically try to connect to a wireless network. If the computer can't set up a wireless connection, it will establish an ad hoc connection to a local address. This is assigned with an IP address and Windows associates this address with the SSID of the last wireless network it connected to.
The machine will then broadcast this SSID, looking to connect with other computers in the immediate area.
The danger arises if an attacker listens for computers that are broadcasting in this way, and creates a network connection of their own with that same SSID. This would allow the two machines to associate together, potentially giving the attacker access to files on the victim's PC.
The best way to avoid this problem at this point would be the firewall. It should offer decent protection.
It seems like more flaws in the Windows show up with increasing frequency. First was the WMF problem, now it's a problem with WiFi. What other problems await the user. Keep in mind a new system will be out soon with a whole new host of bugs as well as several of the old ones.
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About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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