Hacked? Or...

[tutusue]

...a victim of my new abode?

The latter probably!!!

I set up DSL in my new "home office" in Waikiki. Worked great. 'Til today...when I opened Safari, but my designated home page (google) was changed to Sky Wave. Huh? I clicked on a bookmark. Sky Wave again. I hand typed in my ISP's URL...Sky Wave again. Seems if I want to surf the net I need to give Sky Wave my credit card number.

I don't think so! WTF?

I called my ISP, lava.net, to see if similar problems had been reported. Nope! I called my DSL carrier, Hawaiian Telcom, with the same inquiry. Nope! But Haw. Tel. did walk me thru some checks and it turns out that Sky Wave is probably the wifi service for Starbucks, 18 floors below me!

So...I'm back in operational mode in Waikiki but Haw Tel. wasn't able to tell me how to secure my DSL connection with a password. I mean, if I can find Starbucks...they, and everyone logged on in the store, can find me!!! Right?

So...is there a web page for really dense, untechie tutus that explains in very basic english how to password protect my air space?

Mac Powerbook
OS 10.4.9
Westell wireless modem

TIA!

[craigwatanabe]

I take it that your computer is on a Wi-Fi set up?

I'm not familiar with Mac's but the generic way is to find the ISP of Starbucks below you and tell your network settings to ignore it.

On a wireless setup you're probably running a TCP/IP protocal. I'm sure you can disable that wireless network from it's properties menu.

You need to encrypt your wireless router/modem. Here's a simple link (http://ask-leo.com/wireless_encryption_do_i_need_it.html)

[cprompt0806]

here's a link to download the manual of the westell versalink 327w (if you have this model).. (http://onlinehelp.verizon.net/consumer/bin/pdf/VersaLink327WGatewayQuickStartGuide.pdf)

you can access the westell setup screen by going to your browser and typing 192.168.1.1

how do you connect to your router? wirelessly or wired?

[buzz1941]

If you're OSX you should see a liitle fan-shaped doodad at the top right of the screen, next to the volume control. That's your wireless selector. Click on it and select the wireless input of your choice. Likely your own AirPort transmitter.

[mel]

Sky Wave has quite a presence in the Waikiki area. I think it is a pay as you go service, mostly through wifi. Try turning off AIRPORT on your Mac, or if you are using it, be sure to select your WiFi address as the authorized access point.

I don't know how SkyWave changed your default home page... that is upsetting, especially for a Mac.

[buzz1941]

I don't know how SkyWave changed your default home page... that is upsetting, especially for a Mac.

Yes, I agree. Shouldn't happen, but it does — as pay-as-you-go wifi, like in airports.

[Palolo Joe]

I don't know how SkyWave changed your default home page... that is upsetting, especially for a Mac.

It doesn't change anything. It redirects you to the SkyWave payment page.

No matter what URL you put in the browser, you'll get redirected to the payment page.

Change your airport settings so it's not selecting the SkyWave Wi-Fi network.

SkyWave wants your money. That's all.

[mel]

Her wifi is probably picking up SkyWave's signal which means she has to change it to her own wifi (if she has a wireless router) or turn the Airport off on her Mac and just use the hard wire into her own network. But yes, I can see that the default page is going to SkyWave if that is indeed the signal she is picking up on.

[i-hungry]

Yeah. Its just choosing SkyWave over her own wifi setup. No hacking or bad deeds being done. Sue, you need to limit your wifi connections to only your setup.

If you have a laptop and want to connect to other sites when you move around then configure your wifi setup with first priority login. If you're near your network then it will choose it first.

You can encrypt and password-protect your wifi setup. I have been skipping that and I only use the mac address filtering. Nobody gets access unless I add them to the list.

[tutusue]

Craig...thanks for the link.

Cprompt...I connect wirelessly! And, yes, I use a 327W so will definitely download the manual. Thanks for providing the link.

Burl...Yes, OS 10.4.9. While Haw. Tel. tech support was walking me thru a bunch of steps he asked me to check the Airport icon. That's when I discovered the problem...a looooong list of choices and my set-up selected Sky Wave!

Mel...You're right! My default home page was changed because Sky Wave was my access point.

i-hungry...that's waaaay over this untechie tutu's head!!!!! But, I'll try to figure it out!! Thanks!

Now that I'm aware of this problem I know what to do about it! Still, I feel the need to secure my connection.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your help. :)

[i-hungry]

Sorry for the tech-speak. If you want, you can PM me with questions..

[kamapuaa]

You should check:

System Preferences -> Network -> "Show" (Dropdown menu) Airport

This will take you to the airport configuration stuff. Click the "Airport" tab, which should show you a pannel where there's a drop-down menu ("By default, join:") where you can choose Preferred networks or Automatic. You'll probably want to use "preferred networks" in a chatty place like waikiki. Below that should be a list of wireless networks you have previously used. Just delete (use the "-" button below the list) the networks you're not using.

I think, if you use automatic, it will choose the network with the most signal strength, but I'm not sure about that.

Hope this helps.

[tutusue]

You should check:

System Preferences -> Network -> "Show" (Dropdown menu) Airport
[...]
Hope this helps.
Thanks, Kamapuaa. Yes, this is exactly what I ended up doing and it worked!

[tutusue]

[...]You'll probably want to use "preferred networks" in a chatty place like waikiki. Below that should be a list of wireless networks you have previously used. Just delete (use the "-" button below the list) the networks you're not using.[...]
I've done the above and everything is copasetic! I now need to do some online banking. My network is not secured with a password yet. Is it safe to log on to my bank?

Jeez...I just realized that, last night, I logged on to my investment sites without giving it a second thought. :eek:

All advice is welcome!!!

[GeckoGeek]

My network is not secured with a password yet. Is it safe to log on to my bank?

No.

(Answer in a nutshell.)

[tutusue]

No.

(Answer in a nutshell.)
Thank you! :eek:

[GregLee]

I have a 327w modem/router for Hawaii Telcom DSL, too. I'm using mac address filtering as well as a 64 bit WEP encoding key. For the first, you figure out the mac address of your computer's wireless interface, then browse to the 327w at 192.168.1.1 and enter the mac address into the router's table of mac addresses, and finally tell the 327w to turn on mac filtering. It's an easy way to get some security.

[kamapuaa]

No.

(Answer in a nutshell.)

Actually, your session to the bank should still be encrypted. Having an open wireless access point really just means that people can join your network segement. Possible downsides to this would include, but not be limited to:

1. Access to any non-password protected shares (eg: samba/afs shares, daapd itunes/iphoto/etc shares)
2. Access to any non-password protected devices (eg: someone printing stuff to your printer)
3. Unlimited use of your upstream bandwidth (bad - eg: kiddie porn searches, flame forum posts, email spam from your IP address)
4. The ability to snoop unencrypted traffic on your network (eg: email messages, non-encrypted browser sessions)

It's worth setting a password.

[GeckoGeek]

Actually, your session to the bank should still be encrypted.

I thought about that later. However, with a unencrypted AP, someone could spoof it and do a "man in the middle" attack. Not likely, but then it's not a good idea to tempt fate.

[kamapuaa]

I thought about that later. However, with a unencrypted AP, someone could spoof it and do a "man in the middle" attack. Not likely, but then it's not a good idea to tempt fate.

Woo! Mitnick Attack! :)