ceejay;267650 Wrote: 
> As I hope my examples illustrated, the threats in these terms are quite
> different depending on your environment.
Perhaps more accurately, the risks are the same, but there is a
difference in 'threat level' (for want of a better description) for
different classes of potential intruder.

ceejay;267650 Wrote: 
> ...(an ignorant / non technical neighbour is blundering around) MAC
> filtering makes my network completely inaccessible.
> ...a malicious and skilled person wants to get at my network, in which
> case I've already agreed that this technique isn't much use.
The point I was making is that authentication will deter both. The
non-technical neighbour with WEP and better, the 'skilled' person with
WPA(1) or better.

But I know you know that :)

ceejay;267650 Wrote: 
> No, don't like that analogy at all
No, nor do I - so here's another one:
You send out a party invitation. Each invited guest has a numbered
ticket which they show on the door. This gains them access to the
party. No other identity checks are made. Anyone with a correctly
numbered ticket may enter. The downside is that tickets may be given
away, or lost then found by a stranger, or used briefly then given to a
stranger after the guest leaves. And anyone with a correctly numbered
ticket must be a valid guest, right?

But all analogies become somewhat strained and cumbersome. The point I
am making is that using one of the IEEE 802.11 authentication services
(which rely on the encryption key) will prevent 'uninvited guests'.
That's what they're designed to do. And it's easier to implement than
MAC address filtering. And MAC address filtering is (as I said
originally) so easy to bypass that it provides no worthwhile security.

ceejay;267650 Wrote: 
> I don't like to see people falling into the trap of thinking that
> everyone else has the same skills and knowledge that they do
Underestimating one's adversary is dangerous. I hadn't really
considered that overestimating one's adversary was dangerous - in this
case, it is just so easy to do the job properly...

Kind regards


-- 
rperkin
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