TTC Shelbyville – Technical Blog

Most exams required in the Computer Information Technology program are vendor neutral.  Recently TTC Shelbyville added the CWTS Certified Wireless Technology Specialist to the IT program offered.   A recent salary survey showed that wireless specialist can earn $94,000 annually.  More Information

Link to Survey

Average Salary  (US)

• 2005 – $69,000
• 2006 – $74,000
• 2007 – $78,000
• 2008 – $86,170

Exam Objectives

The Alfa 802.11 g/n wireless usb adapter is one of the strongest on the market.  This adapter fits desktops and laptops alike and retails under $40.00.  The SMC antenna is removable and a high gain antenna can be place on the palm sized adapter.

(Recommendations – Download the new driver here.)

One of our students Ben found this product which has been on the market for sometime.   Once we get this in, we will do a detailed review.

* Compatible with IEEE 802.11n, 802.11b/g/n wireless standards
* 2.4GHz frequency band, MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output)
* Complies with Universal Serial Bus Rev. 2.0 specifications
* High speed transfer TX data rate up to 150 Mbps
* Supports WPS by S/W
* Supports wireless data encryption with 64/128-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2, TKIP, AES
* Wide Range coverage
* Compliant with FCC Part 15.247 for US, ETS 300 328 for Europe
* Works with Windows 2000, XP 32/64, Vista 32/64, Windows 7 32/64.

Specifications:

- IEEE 802.11b/g/n standard
- USB 2.0 standard
- Up to 150Mbps for 802.11n connections
- Frequency Range: 2.412~2.483 GHz
- Receive sensitivity 11b: -92dBm, 11g: -76dBm, 11n: -73dBm@HT20, -70dBm@HT40

The Alfa USB adapter has an excellent utility to connect to your access points, analyze  data rates and also provides comprehensive information about your wireless network.

So what does a standard laptop wireless card detected?  Below is graphical diagram of inSSIDer from Metageeks (freeware) displaying a stationary scan in our classroom (Block walls).  With five access points, only three signals have a quality signal available.

Below is an example of the same laptop with the internal card disabled and the Alfa USB Adapter connected.

So is Are You Secure because you live in a rural area?

No..

These linksys routers are not seen from my home normally.  Ironically neither are secure.

So what if you get a larger antenna?  There is a balance of antenna type vs. antenna gain.  A larger antenna can be better,  if it is not too large.

Decibels in relation to power gain:

20 dB is an increase of 100X in power
10 dB is an increase of 10X in power
6 dB is an increase of 4X in power
3 dB is an increase of 2X in power
2 dB is an increase of 1.6X in power
1 dB is an increase of 1.25X in power
0 dB is no increase or decrease in power

Decibels/dB, how to understand their relationship to power loss:

1 dB loss: 80% of power remains.
2 dB loss: 63% of power remains.
3 dB loss: 50% of power remains.
6 dB loss: 25% of power remains.
9 dB loss: 12.5% of power remains.
10 dB loss: 10% of power remains.
12 dB loss: 6.25% of power remains.
20 dB loss: 1 percent of power remains.

If you add an antenna (yagi, omnidirectional) and need to add cable, make sure the total attenuation or loss is no more than about 3 db at 2.4 GHz or you could lose half of your total transmit power before it even reaches the antenna.

Certified Wireless Network Professionals are being recognized for their expertise in the wireless community.  CWNP offers excellent free resources for anyone interested.

CWNP Blog

Establishing a Career Path in Information Security – Certification Magazine.

Question: I have completed my degree in IT. I want to pursue a career in information security. Which path should I follow? I have done Java. Should I go for the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) or directly for a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) course? Is there any other better option? Read more.

People are looking for ways to boost their wireless signal   It can be done effortlessly by using an adapter (cable if needed) and any antenna found at FAB Corp.  (We do not promote individual companies-this is just an example) The higher the db, the stronger the signal.  Connect your wireless from your home to your shop or adjoining building.   (Make sure you use WPA encryption)  These antennas work with any WAP or Wireless Router.

Omindirectional – 360 degree signal
Parabolic -             Usually 120 degree signal 

Rubber Duck (indoor) 9db                 

Yagi – directional (we use these to shoot 3/4 of a mile.

Panel – (Indoor)      

SmallNetBuilder is an excellent site to read reviews and use tools to compare networking products including Wireless, LAN, SAN, NAS and other hardware.

This information comes from Inside Tech.

Here are the top 10:

Thanks Cecil!

Link

WirelessKeyView shows the wireless keys in your Zero configuration settings.  Link

WLANBook again has a good online utility to detect wireless networks on your network.  By using your computer and going to this site, you can see if any other devices are on your network.  (scroll to the bottom of the page)  This can also be used to find rogue access points.

Want to see information on your wireless network.  We have offered software such as NetSurveyor, Inssider and others.  Here’s a way to see the information about your current connection.

http://802.11-security.com/ has great information on wireless security.

~D.Babian

Recently we had a driver for a wireless desktop computer that was working and 23 others that were not.   What had happened was we experimented with a wireless driver and it worked.   Because the original wireless device did not have a Windows 7 driver, we ran SIW and went to ma-config.com and found out the wireless device was identified as a Marvel wireless chip although this was not the manufacturer of the device.   We downloaded and ran the driver.   It worked.  In between classes, we cleaned the computer’s history and could not remember what we had downloaded.

In order to find the driver, we ran the following command line as an administrator -

netsh wlan show drivers

After seeing the main drivers, we were able to download the correct drivers for the wireless interface

(Example Below)

I’ve seen a lot of these viruses and malware before.  But it seems recently they have infiltrated ads on legitimate sites and are increasing.   Increases in viruses can be the result of news events and other politically, driven events.  If you receive a link from someone who is sending a link to you (they inform you in advance), you can still receive one of these malicious rotating ads from a legitimate website.

The best practice now is to copy and paste the article (if not copyrighted)  or use the share this button (email, facebook or other).

On Facebook, don’t click on anything that says things like see this tragedy, or someone dead – this is misleading and challenges people’s curiosity.

Want to check for a virus?  Check out our article “There is Nothing Wrong with my computer!” 

Dark Reading Launches Cloud Security Tech Center – Darkreading.

Crimeware Kit Emerges for Mac OS X.

Need information and a map on an IP address.  InfoSniper finds the GeoLocation and IP address of any ip address you want.

Awesome Vistumbler is the Netstumbler for Windows 7.  With Google Earth installed and a GPS, you can do this:

Link

Our class uses a scientific method of studying wireless and security.  With hands-on during every term (not in a closed lab like a majority of higher-ed institutions), the classes we teach really enjoy the study of wireless and analyzing signals.   During a recent study we found over 380 access points of which 50% were unsecure.

WiGLE has a global map drawn up by wardrivers.   Viewing the maps is scary – really, really scary.  These online GPS maps show secured and unsecured networks.

How to secure your access point- Linksys Belkin Netgear 2wire DLink

Attaching to unknown networks that are unsecured and not public is both dangerous and illegal.   Actually connecting to wireless  hotspots can be dangerous (See our article on attaching to HotSpots).   You should always use a vpn when connecting to a hotspot.   There are now applications that allow laptops, netbooks and droids to be setup as hotspots.  With packet capturing software, your data can be intercepted if you don’t use a vpn.

Improving your wireless signal is actually is easy.  For as little as $40, you can gain (from 30mw) to 1000mw or even 2000mw with the Alpha Antenna.  With a standard laptop, we see approximately eight access points.  With the Alpha we see approximately 14, and with a large antenna we were able to see 44 access points.

So what if you get a larger antenna?  There is a balance of antenna type vs. antenna gain.  A larger antenna can be better,  if it is not too large.

Decibels in relation to power gain:

20 dB is an increase of 100X in power
10 dB is an increase of 10X in power
6 dB is an increase of 4X in power
3 dB is an increase of 2X in power
2 dB is an increase of 1.6X in power
1 dB is an increase of 1.25X in power
0 dB is no increase or decrease in power

Decibels/dB, how to understand their relationship to power loss:

1 dB loss: 80% of power remains.
2 dB loss: 63% of power remains.
3 dB loss: 50% of power remains.
6 dB loss: 25% of power remains.
9 dB loss: 12.5% of power remains.
10 dB loss: 10% of power remains.
12 dB loss: 6.25% of power remains.
20 dB loss: 1 percent of power remains.
(Therefore professional wireless cards have to be used for larger antennas)

(Calculators)

If you add an antenna (yagi, omnidirectional) and need to add cable, make sure the total attenuation or loss is no more than about 3 db at 2.4 GHz or you could lose half of your total transmit power before it even reaches the antenna.

Specs on the Alfa Antenna ~

* Compatible with IEEE 802.11n, 802.11b/g/n wireless standards
* 2.4GHz frequency band, MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output)
* Complies with Universal Serial Bus Rev. 2.0 specifications
* High speed transfer TX data rate up to 150 Mbps
* Supports WPS by S/W
* Supports wireless data encryption with 64/128-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2, TKIP, AES
* Wide Range coverage
* Compliant with FCC Part 15.247 for US, ETS 300 328 for Europe
* Works with Windows 2000, XP 32/64, Vista 32/64, Windows 7 32/64.

Specifications:

- IEEE 802.11b/g/n standard
- USB 2.0 standard
- Up to 150Mbps for 802.11n connections
- Frequency Range: 2.412~2.483 GHz
- Receive sensitivity 11b: -92dBm, 11g: -76dBm, 11n: -73dBm@HT20, -70dBm@HT40

What software do we recommend when doing a wireless site survey?

inSSIDer

inSSIDer also has GPS software built in… attach a USB GPS and export the results to a KML file for GoogleEarth.

Droid Wi-Fi Analyzer

We found the Droid to be more sensitive than most laptops! (The youtube below is not our results)

NetAnalyzer (Nuts about Nets)

Vistumbler

Vistumbler is another survey tool that uses a GPS (optional).

Xirrus

Xirrus Wi-Fi monitor offers a good tool and even a gadget for Windows 7′s sidebar.

Both NetSurveyor and InSSIDer have analyzers that can analyze your organization and offer advanced software for wireless professionals.  The above software is free to download.

Nuts about Nets has a new tool to test the wireless throughput of your wireless network.  Measuring TCP and UDP, NetStress is a great tool to see how efficient your network is.  You need to setup NetStress on two computers with one being the server and one being the client.  The easy setup will require you to allow icmp and exceptions on your firewall.

To protect your network -

Use these wireless survey tools to see how far your wireless extends beyond your home or building and you can also use A Wi-Fi Site Survey tool such as Ekahau Heat Mapper. Always encrypt your wireless.

Also have you purchased a wireless printer?  Then you may just be giving access to everyone – everywhere …not just to the printer but to your document.  See our follow up article.

Several months ago I did a tiny blog on inSSIDer a wireless scanning utility.  The producers of inSSIDer are releasing a Beta Version with GPS!   Here’s the Link.

With the lat and long, look for this to be married up with google maps or live maps.

The most powerful Wireless USB adapter for desktops, laptops and netbooks is around 2 mw for the home user.  (See our updated post and high gain antennas for the adapters here ) We have featured key wireless utilities such as Netstumbler, NetSurveyor, inSSIDer and others to use with your wireless computer.

Now Meraki WiFi Stumbler a wireless utility made for Firefox 3.5 and 3.6, Safari 4, Internet Explorer 7 and 8, Google Chrome (Windows only at this time) is available on the web with no software to install.

Wireless dBm to mw Conversion utility.