Hams Report 85-mile 802.11b File Transfers @ Oregon

Wed Apr 14 18:47:14 PDT 2004

"Whereas my little AP does NOT have a 6' parabolic antenna and high gain 
radio in it."

You seem to have missed an important point. I'll repeat it, below.

"Whereas my little AP is hard to hear in the guest room."

This is probably a consequence of geometry, antenna, or both. Better 
wireless cards provide a jack for the connection of an external antenna. 
I'd be happy to consult on this problem, separately.

It's important to understand that an antenna which radiates strongly in 
a specific direction (at the expense of all other directions) also 
receives strongly (IE, possesses signal gain, measured in decibels) in 
that same direction - IE, it passively amplifies the signal.

So, for the record, let me emphasize that it does not matter if your WAP 
has a 6' parabolic dish or a high gain radio; the absence is 
unimportant, from the hypothetical eavesdropper's point of view.

What -does- matter is that, as the radius of the circle increases, the 
area containing people in a position to receive your 802.11b traffic - 
the volume of the circle - increases dramatically, also.

The important point is that the radius of that circle should now be 
estimated to be at least one order of magnitude larger than you 
previously estimated it to be - perhaps two orders of magnitude.

As an important corollary, it's safe to assume that the number of people 
in a position to receive your 802.11b traffic - as hinted at, above - is 
two to three orders of magnitude more than you previously estimated, as 
well.

By my estimate, that translates into a two-to-three orders-of-magnitude 
increase in risk. Which is a number you can bring to your Board of 
Directors, if they still think 802.11b is a Pretty Good Idea (and it is, 
under many circumstances - but not all).

"Yeah, references are a good idea when you make assertions."

This sort of sniping is really beneath you.

But since you bring up the subject ...

You are welcome to dispute my assertions, but if you wish to undermine 
them, you need to provide some references of your own so that I, 
personally, can distinguish between objective facts - such as the 
abrupt, unannounced resignation of the Chairman of the Board of 
Directors of the Oracle Corporation, for instance, three days after a 
website connects his regi^H^H^H^Hmanagement with criminal conduct - and 
less well documented fantasies, by would-be critics ... reduced, alas, 
to picking at imaginary nits. (But I digress.)

I have the courage of my convictions, Chuck. ... And, there's no law 
against exercising one's freedom of speech, provided it is done in a 
law-abiding manner. That is one of the major structural elements of the 
United States, one of the main pillars in the platform upon which 
everything else rests - the right to tell others what is happening, even 
if it's unsanctioned, or even unpopular.

It's not just a right - it's a responsibility. If anyone allows themself 
to be coerced into silence when they should tell others about something 
bad that is happening, they are hurting themselves and everyone around 
them ... just as much as if they saw the foundation of their house 
rotting, and ignored it, and let their family members walk up and down 
worm-eaten stairs, day after day.

If the California and Federal goverments spent as much money prosecuting 
Larry Ellison for some of the things he has done to the people of this 
state, as they do prosecuting victimless crimes, in one city, for one 
year, this state would be a safer place - and a safer place to do 
business ... in my opinion.

You can quote me.

Regards,

-- richard

-- 

Richard Childers / Senior Engineer
Daemonized Networking Services
945 Taraval Street, #105
San Francisco, CA 94116 USA
[011.]1.415.759.5571
http://www.daemonized.com