WiFi Attack Questions

[MoJones]

I just read the article posted here about the Krack attack. Are the encrypted WiFi routers from Comcast Xfinity vulnerable to this attack? Is having a VPN Service for when I am not at home an effective protection? Would Norton Mobile be sufficient to protect against viruses and/or malware they could send? I have a Samsung Galaxy 8, which if vulnerable due to having the newest Android. In the link you provided it shows that Samsung was affected, and issues the update on October 12th. I don't know about any update, and if I am still very vulnerable or not.

 

[Paul Wagenseil]

I just read the article posted here about the Krack attack. Are the encrypted WiFi routers from Comcast Xfinity vulnerable to this attack? Is having a VPN Service for when I am not at home an effective protection? Would Norton Mobile be sufficient to protect against viruses and/or malware they could send? I have a Samsung Galaxy 8, which if vulnerable due to having the newest Android. In the link you provided it shows that Samsung was affected, and issues the update on October 12th. I don't know about any update, and if I am still very vulnerable or not.

Hello -- Comcast rents out a few different kinds of wireless gateways to its Xfinity customers, so we'll need to know what kind you have.

From the Xfinity website: "To determine the type of Gateway you have, check the make and model information located on the bottom of your device or sign in to My Account and select Devices to view the make and model."

Please find out, let us know, and we'll try to investigate.

Regarding VPN services, it depends how the VPN is set up. The KRACK attack is an attack upon the connection between routers and client devices such as smartphones and laptops.

A VPN service running on only the router would encrypt the connection between the router and the VPN service, but not necessarily between the router and a client device.

But if a client device were individually set up to use the VPN service as well, as you normally get with a VPN application, then the connection between that device and the router would be protected.

Regarding Norton Mobile, are you talking about Norton Mobile Security for Android? That will indeed detect most mobile malware. But you'd be at greater risk from theft of personal information from smartphones or computers, which antivirus software might not detect.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 should be protected from Krack if you install the latest software update. Like most other major vendors, Samsung was privately notified of this flaw a couple of months ago. It released a patch on Oct. 12, a few days before the Krack flaw as disclosed.

From Samsung's site, here are the steps for installing a software update:

"Navigate to Apps > Settings.
Touch Search, and then search for and select System updates.
Touch Download updates manually."

Please let us know, however, about what kind of Xfinity gateway you have, and what kind of Norton Mobile software you have.

 

[SumTingW0ng]

I just read the article posted here about the Krack attack. Are the encrypted WiFi routers from Comcast Xfinity vulnerable to this attack? Is having a VPN Service for when I am not at home an effective protection? Would Norton Mobile be sufficient to protect against viruses and/or malware they could send? I have a Samsung Galaxy 8, which if vulnerable due to having the newest Android. In the link you provided it shows that Samsung was affected, and issues the update on October 12th. I don't know about any update, and if I am still very vulnerable or not.

Hello -- Comcast rents out a few different kinds of wireless gateways to its Xfinity customers, so we'll need to know what kind you have.

From the Xfinity website: "To determine the type of Gateway you have, check the make and model information located on the bottom of your device or sign in to My Account and select Devices to view the make and model."

Please find out, let us know, and we'll try to investigate.

Regarding VPN services, it depends how the VPN is set up. The KRACK attack is an attack upon the connection between routers and client devices such as smartphones and laptops.

A VPN service running on only the router would encrypt the connection between the router and the VPN service, but not necessarily between the router and a client device.

But if a client device were individually set up to use the VPN service as well, as you normally get with a VPN application, then the connection between that device and the router would be protected.

Regarding Norton Mobile, are you talking about Norton Mobile Security for Android? That will indeed detect most mobile malware. But you'd be at greater risk from theft of personal information from smartphones or computers, which antivirus software might not detect.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 should be protected from Krack if you install the latest software update. Like most other major vendors, Samsung was privately notified of this flaw a couple of months ago. It released a patch on Oct. 12, a few days before the Krack flaw as disclosed.

From Samsung's site, here are the steps for installing a software update:

"Navigate to Apps > Settings.
Touch Search, and then search for and select System updates.
Touch Download updates manually."

Please let us know, however, about what kind of Xfinity gateway you have, and what kind of Norton Mobile software you have.

I believe your wifi have to be near hacker range in order to compromised it.