Are these the "Ten Steps to Public Hotspot Wireless Privacy"

[Slacker]

From another thread, are these the ten steps to public hotspot wireless
privacy?

Is this the procecedure for "anonymous" public hot spot privacy?

1. Find public hot spot (eg use http://www.wififreespot.com)
2. Turn off your wireless transmitter & go to that public hotspot
3. Change your MAC address to DEADBEEFCAFE (using MacMakeUp freeware)
4. Change your PC name (using My Computer, Properties, Computer Name)
5. Change your login ID (always create one for this session only)
6. Set up your (encrypted?) sandbox (sandboxie or truecrypt freeware)
7. ??? anything else ???
8. Start your browser sandboxed or on an encrypted disk
9. When done, turn off your wireless transmitter again.
10. Return all settings back to normal (non hotspot settings)

Are we safe if we follow these ten easy hotspot steps?
If not, what steps would you add to improve hot spot privacy?

[Jeff Liebermann]

Slacker <slacker7@sbcglobal.net> hath wroth:

>From another thread, are these the ten steps to public hotspot wireless
>privacy?

No.

>Is this the procecedure for "anonymous" public hot spot privacy?

No.

>1. Find public hot spot (eg use http://www.wififreespot.com)
>2. Turn off your wireless transmitter & go to that public hotspot
>3. Change your MAC address to DEADBEEFCAFE (using MacMakeUp freeware)
>4. Change your PC name (using My Computer, Properties, Computer Name)
>5. Change your login ID (always create one for this session only)
>6. Set up your (encrypted?) sandbox (sandboxie or truecrypt freeware)
>7. ??? anything else ???
>8. Start your browser sandboxed or on an encrypted disk
>9. When done, turn off your wireless transmitter again.
>10. Return all settings back to normal (non hotspot settings)
>
>Are we safe if we follow these ten easy hotspot steps?
>If not, what steps would you add to improve hot spot privacy?

No. Those are the 10 steps to improve your ANONYMITY, not your
privacy. They are designed to insure that your laptop will not be
recognized, identified, logged, and blocked, probably due to some
previous TOS violation.

If you want privacy, the only good way is to run everything through a
VPN of some sorts (PPTP, IPSec, SSL). Anyone sniffing the wireless,
the router, or anywhere between your laptop and the VPN server will
see only encrypted traffic. See list of online VPN services at:
<http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi#VPN>


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

[Bill Kearney]

> 3. Change your MAC address to DEADBEEFCAFE (using MacMakeUp freeware)

This is stupid. You'll just run into conflicts with some other nitwit
trying to steal wifi access for god knows what idiocy online.

[stephen]

"Bill Kearney" <wkearney-99@hot-mail-com> wrote in message
news:yqOdnVssRfU2DJTanZ2dnUVZ_jSdnZ2d@speakeasy.ne t...
> > 3. Change your MAC address to DEADBEEFCAFE (using MacMakeUp freeware)

this is a multicast MAC address

even if this was a good idea (and it isnt - as Bill suggests 2 people doing
this simultaneously will at the same hotspot will break various things),
good equipment will refuse to talk to a device using a multicast MAC source
adr, as it is breaking the IEEE 802.3 rules for addressing.

>
> This is stupid. You'll just run into conflicts with some other nitwit
> trying to steal wifi access for god knows what idiocy online.

and if i ran a hot spot chain and saw this thread, that adr would get
blocked universally.
>
--
Regards

stephen_hope@xyzworld.com - replace xyz with ntl

[Alfred Einstein]

"stephen" <stephen_hope@xyzworld.com> wrote in message
news:J4mOi.22000$HW.14052@newsfe3-gui.ntli.net...
> "Bill Kearney" <wkearney-99@hot-mail-com> wrote in message
> news:yqOdnVssRfU2DJTanZ2dnUVZ_jSdnZ2d@speakeasy.ne t...
>> > 3. Change your MAC address to DEADBEEFCAFE (using MacMakeUp freeware)
>
> this is a multicast MAC address
>
> even if this was a good idea (and it isnt - as Bill suggests 2 people
> doing
> this simultaneously will at the same hotspot will break various things),
> good equipment will refuse to talk to a device using a multicast MAC
> source
> adr, as it is breaking the IEEE 802.3 rules for addressing.
>
>>
>> This is stupid. You'll just run into conflicts with some other nitwit
>> trying to steal wifi access for god knows what idiocy online.
>
> and if i ran a hot spot chain and saw this thread, that adr would get
> blocked universally.

So pick a different MAC.
This one was obviously chosen to be a pun, using hex characters that spelled
out something.

[FJ Chaney]

On Mon, 8 Oct 2007 20:14:28 -0400, Alfred Einstein wrote:

> So pick a different MAC.
> This one was obviously chosen to be a pun, using hex characters that spelled
> out something.

Do a google search on DEADBEEFCAFE. It's the "foo" of MAC addresses.
It's just a placeholder for whatever MAC address you wish to use.
In fact, MacMakeup freeware will automatically pick a random MAC address
for you.

It seems you can even choose the MAC manufacturer, e.g., Intel or IBM or
Adaptec, or whatever, and it will pick a random MAC address specific for
that manufacturer.

Point is, pick your own MAC address and your machine can't be tracked back
to your particular MAC. Just pick it BEFORE you waltz up to the wireless
hotspot!

Any other advices?