Anyone here have a fav setup for ethernet ports via electric outlet?

[Tom_ZeCat]

I've been looking into setting up ethernet ports via the existing electric outlets in our house. It will be nice to hook up the downstairs TV to ethernet so that Internet TV doesn't have to rely on wifi. I see that there is a lot of available technology. Does anyone here have some favorite supplies that they use that they could recommend? We want this to be reliable. Any troublesome stuff I should be aware of?

The other issue: My roommate wants to do this and get rid of wifi completely because he claims it's not secure. He's actually nearly computer illiterate. I have to help him with simple tasks like copying files from one medium to another. However, he insists this is true. Everything I've heard about the latest wifi encryption protocols show that it's quite secure and it's extremely unlikely for a criminal be be able to break into as long as you use a quality password, which we do. What do you think?

[Teunis]

Hehe about your room mate, explain to him any one plugging in to a socket in your building can tap his data

I have never looked at the protocol or security these power adapters use but am fairly confident WIFI is offering better options.
Over here the largest ISP uses Devolo's and I know of several people where it works.
I also know of instances where the network including TV only started working without downtime after they got rid of these things.
They work best when both ends are on the same group (fuse) and worst (not at all) when they are on different phases.

And I know of several people that had big problems with the annoying radio spectrum noise these adapters send throughout the building, they are often anti-social.

All together, make sure you can first try and return them before you commit.

http://www.devolo.com/en

[jlittle]

I use TP Link 500 Mb/s adapters. They just work. Fantastic flexibility, it's like having ethernet jacks through the house. My smallish house stands alone, with only one fuse box. I've little idea, other than the assurances that came on the boxes, how secure they are.

[sithlord48]

The security on those power line adaptors is non exsistent. everyone that shares your lines will be able to connect to your network . granted they will also need a powerline device to connect but if they have one they don't need anything else since there is very little you can do to secure that network other scaning for unwanted devices often and blocking their mac addresses. idk if you can but if you were to kerberize the network i guess it would be as secure as your kerberos setup ....


If you have wifi and its using WPA2 and your routers firmware does not support WPS the security of the network is directly releated to the length of your passpharase.. the longer the passphrase the longer it would take to bruteforce it .. if you use a 12 digit or longer passphrase and change it every month you will be very secure.

If your routers firmware suports WPS then you need new firmware. A hole in WPS allows the passphrase to be bypassed and an attacker can gain access to your wifi pretty fast. It does not matter if your have WPS enabled or not for this exploit.

if your using WEP its basicly a short attack to "guess" the passphrase based on packets collected from your router

if security is your consern then use wires and kerberize your network

[oshunluvr]

The security on those power line adaptors is non exsistent. everyone that shares your lines will be able to connect to your network . granted they will also need a powerline device to connect but if they have one they don't need anything else since there is very little you can do to secure that network other scaning for unwanted devices often and blocking their mac addresses.

Not true in all cases. For example, I use TP-LINK TL-PA6010KIT AV600 which has a secure pairing option. A new adapter won't connect unless the other adapter(s) are physically accessed and the pairing button activated. Additionally, the range is small (300 meters).

So those imagined persons that are trying to steal your google search history (or what? read your emails?) would have to know what brand/model adapter you're using, have access to your home power within a reasonable distance, AND break into your house and push pairing button AND run back to wherever they are plugged and push the other pairing button within the time the devices will seek each other for pairing. Or wait, I know! They're dressed in black and using walkie-talkies to coordinate their actions! Wow, you guys must be important! Or maybe internet scare mongers and Hollywood spy thriller movies have convinced many of us that the boogie man is real. Does anyone else remember the "monitor scanning" scare of the 90's? Everyone was convinced that some guy in a van had a focused antenna and was able to view what was on your PC display. Like, your Donkey Kong high score was at risk of going public or something.

Seriously, wifi is a much softer target than any hard-wired network device. But even then, a properly configured, well designed router and some basic steps and common-sense behavior (like changing the default admin password) will protect you from all but the most determined and skilled hackers. In real life, your trash can is a much more likely source for an individual to have their ID stolen. If you're worried about security, buy a shredder.

The reality of security involves need, risk, and access. You need to evaluate risk and your security needs at the same time you consider access restrictions. If your roommate insists on total security, he shouldn't be on the internet at all and he should be wearing a tinfoil hat. I seriously doubt either of you are being stalked by a government agency or a sophisticated criminal organization, but I suppose anything is possible.

To the OP: The model I listed above has worked perfectly for over a year at very good speeds and the added pairing option seems a good way to increase security to a reasonable level without having to wear tinfoil hats. $55 on Amazon.

Since I'm sure to get some push-back relating to my above, partially tongue-in-cheek, commentary let's look at some statistics:

From a US DOJ report on identity theft (which is a very broad definition) in 2014:
7% of the population experienced some sort of ID theft (17.5 million).
The vast majority of those (16.4 million) were access of an existing account (90+% credit card or bank).
50% of those resolved the problem in a day or less and lost less than $100 (14% less than $1).
About a third reported a month or more to resolve the issue.
About 10% reported "severe emotional distress" because of the incident.

From what I can find on the 'net, the most common ways to have your ID/information stolen are:
Mail theft (not email - the stuff in your mailbox).
Trash theft (really, same as above, just in a different location ).
Telephone scams.
Phishing (fake emails that collect data YOU insert in a reply).
Documents or "shoulder surfing" (watching you write down or enter a PIN code or SSN, etc.).

Interesting conclusions (just mine, not any so-called experts):
Using digital bill paying and electronic documents is safer than paper mail. A locking mailbox doesn't hurt either.
As I mentioned earlier, a shredder is a real good idea. Mine sits next to the trashcan in my office.
I would never give out personal info on the phone to someone who had called me and any legitimate business wouldn't attempt to collect any - it makes them liable for the results of misuse of the info.
Emails are the same as phone calls. NO legitimate business would email you and require personal data in the reply.
Stolen documents you can't do much about, but "shoulder surfing"? If I gave my ATM pin code to a random stranger, they'd still have to have my ATM card. I can't see this as a large target. I did read that carrying your Soc. Sec. card is a bad idea. That seems like common sense to me - just memorize it. I also don't carry all my credit cards. Two in the wallet, two at home. Two bank accounts - one ATM card with me, one at home.

I have had credit card info stolen twice. Both times in a business where an employee did the dirty deed after I used my card there. Both times cost me nothing more than a phone call and a delay getting a card replaced. Oh, and having to go online and change the places my credit card number is stored. I didn't even break a sweat. Once I had a phone calling card number stolen - remember those back when we paid for long distance calls? I think it was from the bill in my trash. The first bill i received was for over $1000 and this was in the late 80s! The company immediately reversed all the charges without complaint but left the account open so they could attempt to track the thieves. I continued to receive paper bills for about six months, the final one was hundreds of pages long and was well into tens of thousands of dollars. Most of the calls were less than a minute (modem connections?) and were from all over the globe. It was kind of interesting to see the records, but again - no cost to me.

No where did I read about a home network break-in being the source of ID theft. Possible? Maybe. Likely? Not at all in the real world. Theoretical exercises are good for the brain, but that doesn't mean you actually have to apply every paranoid conclusion to your existence. I don't advocate putting your admin password on a sign in front of your house, but a tinfoil hat isn't necessary either.

[oshunluvr]

BTW, I agree with what Sithlord says: A modern wifi router (get an open source one that will run DD-WRT like Asus models) and a good WPA2 passphrase will go miles in securing your network. I doubt many of us need more than that. I use MAC filtering also, but let's be honest: most of this just prevents random use of your internet services. Wifi or even wired access to your network doesn't automatically splay open your computer to the world. They would still need passwords unless you've configured file sharing to a ridiculously insecure degree. I have a media server on my network. If you gained access, you could view my video collection and family photos and listen to my music if you had the correct password. You still couldn't execute a program or gain root access.

I once had a conversation with a Federal network security officer. Their biggest worry was bot-nets being used for illegal purposes like transferring child pornography. Once I told him I was using linux on my computers, he waved his hand and told me that alone offered more security than what was available for most Windows machines. I am in the group of people possibly compromised by the OPM break-in last year. The Feds gave us a security service account with a commercial company that watches my accounts and SSN and notifies me if anything pings. I have had two activity notices - both were me.

The thing that really amazes me is the government and big businesses are STILL USING WINDOWS! WTF?