Hot spot security

[Corey]

Hello. The handful of [PRODUCT NAME DELETED] solutions out these days have a nice feature that keeps everyone using that hotspot from seeing each other. It provides security and a reason for users to use a hotspot with that functionality and to avoid hotspots that do not provide that functionality.

Am I right in assuming that users will still be able to see and explore other PCs connected to a wireless network that is serviced by FirstSpot, or does your software do something special in the configuration to keep file sharing blocked? Thanks for the information.

[alan]

We do have plan to implement this feature in the future but no specific date has been set yet
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~ Patronsoft Limited ~

[baggeh]

this is actually a _major_ problem and will stop companys deploying it. Imagine the law suits for us :(

[Corey]

I agree. It is a major drawback to this solution for wireless hotspots. However, there are some other products on the market that have the same deficiencies.

On the lawsuite portion, a couple of things. First, you should always run this sort of thing through a good internet savy lawyer first. Second, I doubt that we could be sued. Homeowners and businesses all across the world have the same problem. It's the user's responsibility to protect their own system and if they share their files or fail to download critical updates, it's their responsibility. But I'll STILL see a lawyer before going publicly live with an implementation.

[sake]

Yes, this is a big problem. Actually, there's a news on TV just a few weeks ago regarding this kind of security issue in airport hotspots. A hacker in a public hotspot can easily snoop and see what you're doing on your laptop.

If you implement this security measure, I will certainly consider firstspot. But until then, I'll be looking at other solutions.

[Corey]

As I said, I can overlook this deficiency, but my big problem with the system is the control of the hotspot. I hate the browser interface. It is slow and does not start a hotspot service on system boot. If I have a hotspot, I don't want it to just sit there waiting for me to start it up again if someone inadvertently restarts the PC. Even if a power loss resets the PC and it restarts, I have to manually restart the software - unless there have been some major changes. I've given up on this software for now. There are far too many other hotspot products (albeit hardware) that look nice, respond quickly, and have good security. I believe that PatronSoft could really have a great product here if they were willing to address some of these issues. They have made great strides with their new version. And I don't know that I've seen any other software hotspots out there, so they've got the market.

[kevin]

Corey,

Thanks for your feedback. Having FirstSpot auto-started thro' the Service panel is on our feature wish list. Meanwhile, you can use scripting method to achieve that, please refer to this thread for details:

http://www.patronsoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=19#19

For the sleep.exe mentioned in that discussion, you can do a search on Google for a download link.

~ Patronsoft Limited ~

[LarryG]

I am not running the patronsoft software yet. But wouldn't using hardware with the ability to keep the users on the AP separate built in solve the problem?
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LarryG

[LarryG]

wi fi protected mode is not supported that I can find, is there any plans to implement this?
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LarryG

[alan]

1) client isolation (prevent client from seeing each other) will be included in the upcoming v3.

2) Windows Service auto-start support will be in v3 too.

3) Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), or WPA2, will not be in v3. For hotspot environment, it is really early to support WPA.

Still, we want to understand more on your requirement. Since if you want WPA (or WPA2), you might buy a WPA-enabled AP. How do you want a Hotspot Management software support this standard? (E.g. single sign-on)
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~ Patronsoft Limited ~

[Corey]

I'm a bit confused here. Since WPA is run between the AP and your wireless card (not on FirstSpot), I would think you will never see it in Firstspot. If the hotspot dealer sets up WPA for one user on an AP, he must give that key to every user, thus defeating WPA security to a point.

I look forward to seeing what your response is, Larry. This may bring up things I have not yet considered.

[LarryG]

I'm just getting a feel for how I might integrate the Patronsoft management software into the rest of my system. As I haven't used it yet I'll ask some dumb questions... after I have used it I'll still ask dumb questions, but I'll get the answer sooner...

Some background.

My network includes stand alone bandwidth managment with bursting, caching, compression, DNS, mail, etc. Getting all the different boxes to do their job and co-operate is a challenge. I want to get away from managing a bunch of separate remote APs and keep all the functions I have on my network.
A hot spot AP is a little misleading in my case, I use the APs to provide connectivity just like the phone company uses copper pairs.

Centralized management might have moved WPA back to a central point as it has authentication and Bandwidth mgt. I was just checking! In all probability for the short term at least VPN will need to provide security for users that need it.

I'm looking at providing a 'wireless local loop network' as well as access to the internet. That means most users don't want to 'see' each other, but some do - for now a VPN seems the best way for those that need connectivity to other machines on our local wireless net.
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LarryG

[Rowdy]

I also have a related question:
How is it possible to include client isolation in a software product like this one?
Isn't this something that should be implemented in the AP?

[Corey]

An excelent question. Other hardware based hotspot products do the isolation, as they are an AP, also. How does PatronSoft suggest doing this with their software based solution?

[alan]

FirstSpot client isolation feature will work for all APs. Note that FirstSpot will prevent client from seeing each other in Windows "My Network Places" or "Network Neighborhood".
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~ Patronsoft Limited ~