As you know, WPS can work two different ways. First, there is that button. You push the WPS button on your router, push the WPS button your wireless device (printer, laptop, etc.) and they automagically recognize each other to give you network access. There isn’t any problem with this method.

The security flaw that has now been revealed has to do with the second method: PIN. The PIN for WPS is supposed to be an eight-digit random number that is predefined by the manufacturer. As such, there are 100 million variations. A brute force attack would just take too long.

However, there is a flaw in how the PIN is addressed. When you enter an incorrect PIN on the wireless device, the router sends a reply saying it’s wrong. But that’s not all the reply indicates. It also tells you whether the first or second halves of the PIN are correct. What’s more, the final digit is a checksum of the other seven digits. Working this all out, a brute force attack can take only 11,000 attempts. That’s a 9000-fold difference. In effect, a brute force PIN attack on a WPS router can take less than four hours.

This apparently affects a wide range of router manufacturers, including such big names as Linksys, Netgear, D-Link, Belkin, and ZyXEL. I’m not saying you need to put on your tinfoil hats and put your home on lockdown, but if you are worried about these brute force attacks, the only way to prevent them is to disable WPS on your router.

The post Brute Force Attack On WiFi Protected Setup Only Takes 4 Hours appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

On the surface, it looks like a rather unassuming and nondescript grey box. What makes it interesting is that you can attach just about any USB Internet stick to this and it’ll take that web access, broadcasting it out just like your wireless router at home. Furthermore, it can support as many connected devices as you’d like, unlike the typical five device limit on MiFi devices from Novatel and crew.

If you really want, there’s even an Ethernet jack in there for connecting to a more conventional modem. The USB modem part is carrier-independent, as you’d expect, so that’s pretty useful for traveling. On the downside, it’s a heck of a lot uglier than the comparatively slick MiFi modems.

In any case, the pocket 3G router has an official MSRP of $115, but the street price is closer to $85 or so.

[Electronista]

The post Zyxel pocket 3G router challenges MiFi by sharing USB sticks appeared first on Mobile Magazine.