Items tagged with wi fi
Most of the security vulnerabilities we write about at HotHardware fortunately won't affect the vast majority of readers. Either these exploits require user interaction to kick-start, or you have to be of particular interest as a target for someone to go through the effort of executing more complex attacks against you or your devices. But then there are those vulnerabilities that could impact any of us at any time, and worse, can be exploited with the ultimate of ease. Embedi is a security firm that focuses on embedded devices and operating systems (hence the name). Through its research efforts,...
Read more...
Belkin has announced a barrage of connected products at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), not the least of which is its new Linksys MR8300 mesh Wi-Fi router. Before we get to the actual router, though, let's talk a bit about the Belkin and Linksys brands, and where things currently stand (it can be a little confusing). Linksys started off as its own company way back in 1988 (first as DEW International, then later renamed Linksys), founded by Victor and Janie Tsao, a couple that had immigrated to the United States. The company built a reputation for itself, and in particular its WRT54G was a...
Read more...
Qualcomm on Tuesday announced a new family of 60GHz 802.11ay Wi-Fi chipsets that promise to significantly improve wireless performance. Raw speed is part of the deal, with 802.11ay delivering 10+ gigabit-per-second (Gbps) network speeds, but Qualcomm is also claiming latency on the level of a wired connection. It's a somewhat confusing addition to the wireless space with the Wi-Fi Alliance recently announcing new nomenclature designed to simplify things. Wi-Fi Alliance is phasing out all of the different 802.11 designations and replacing them with terms like 'Wi-Fi 6' (next-generation 802.11ax)...
Read more...
As video and image files grow with higher resolution cameras and sensors, it takes an increasing amount of bandwidth to transfer those files around a wireless network. To support the need for faster transfer speeds, the Wi-Fi Alliance is working on ever faster Wi-Fi technology. It has announced Wi-Fi 6, the designation for devices that support the 802.11ax standard. The introduction of Wi-Fi 6 marks the beginning of the Wi-Fi Alliance using generational names for certification programs for all major IEEE 802.11 releases. That means instead of devices being called 802.11ax compatible, they will...
Read more...
Stronger wireless security is headed to homes and businesses. That's because the Wi-Fi Alliance this week formally introduced Wi-Fi Certified WPA3, the next generation of Wi-Fi security with new capabilities to bolster personal and enterprise wireless networks. The new standard builds upon and ultimately replaces WPA2, which has seen widespread adoption over the past 10 years, enabling more robust authentication. No small upgrade, WPA3 delivers increased cryptography strength for highly sensitive data markets. There are two modes, WPA3-Personal and WPA3-Etnerprise, both of which use the latest...
Read more...
Apple is discontinuing its line of wireless routers, including its AirPort Extreme base station and AirPort Express, both of which support simultaneous dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity and can be configured and managed through an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC. It's a somewhat surprising move when there is so much focus in the tech industry on the fast growing Internet of Things (IoT) market and connecting homes, though the writing has been on the wall for more than a year. In late 2016, Apple dismantled its AirPort division and reportedly reassigned employees who had been developing...
Read more...
Do roaming charges have you feeling down? Good news—Google has begun beta testing Wi-Fi calling on its Google Voice service for Android devices and on the web. As for iOS, Google says support is coming soon, but did not offer up a specific date. This is especially helpful for people who own more than one mobile device, such as a personal phone and a separate one for work. Through the beta program, users can make calls over Wi-Fi on any compatible device that has Google Voice installed, or on the web. Not only could this potentially reduce roaming charges (if that is something you contend...
Read more...
Over the past few weeks, complaints have been pouring into Google's support communities and reddit concerning Google Home and Chromecast devices flooding home Wi-Fi networks with packets of data, causing their internet speeds to slow to crawl. Thankfully, Google has responded late this week with a fix to address these slowdowns. "In certain situations, a bug in the Cast software on Android phones may incorrectly send a large amount of network traffic which can slow down or temporarily impact Wi-Fi networks," wrote Google. "The specific impact to the network will vary depending on the router." As...
Read more...
Technology is awesome when it works as intended, and maddeningly frustrating when it glitches. Unfortunately for some owners of Google's Chromecast dongles and Home smart speakers, they are experiencing the latter with unexpected Wi-Fi dropouts and router reboots. The issue affects several different router models and seems to be related to the way Google's devices cast content. The complaints have been piling up at Reddit. Those suffering from wonky wireless issues report the problem with Chromecast and Google Home devices on ASUS, Linksys, Netgear, TP-Link, and Synology routers. TP-Link acknowledge...
Read more...
The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced that it has added new enhancements and features to WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) that will make the feature more secure. The new features include configuration, authentication, and encryption enhancements across the portfolio to ensure that Wi-Fi Certified devices are using state of the art security protections. The Wi-Fi Alliance wrote, “WPA2 provides reliable security used in billions of Wi-Fi devices every day, and will continue to be deployed in Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices for the foreseeable future. Wi-Fi Alliance will continue enhancing WPA2 to ensure it...
Read more...
You Dawg, D-Link heard you like antennas, so it put some antennas on your antennas. The company has rolled out a pair of new Ultra Wi-Fi routers that are 802.11ax compatible. The products include the AX6000 Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-X6060) and the AX11000 Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-X9000), and D-Link says that both are designed to push the limits of performance and range. The AX6000 supports speeds up to 6,000 Mbps while the AX11000 supports up to 11,000 Mbps. "With ever-increasing internet speeds, consumers are connecting more devices than ever before," said Nima Jamshidi, Senior Product Line Manager,...
Read more...
Rivet Networks today announced a new high-performance wireless module, the Killer 1550, that also happens to be the first one introduced as part of a collaboration with Intel. That is not a bad partner to have, and in this case, the result is a wireless module that meets and even surpasses gigabit wireless speeds. More specifically, the Killer 1550 delivers a max throughput of 1.73 gigabits per second. Let that number sink in a moment. Granted, real-world speeds are never going to hit theoretical maximums when it comes to networking productions—there is always overhead to consider. But even...
Read more...
Within the year, Intel will beef up its portfolio of networking products with 802.11ax Wi-Fi chipsets for mainstream 2x2 and 4x4 home routers and gateways, the company recently announced. Routers and gateways based on Intel's new chipsets will be compatible with today's cable, DSL, and fiber optic networks, delivering faster wireless performance to home consumers and their devices. The Wi-Fi Alliance is still hammering out an official specification for 802.11ax. Once completed and deployed by hardware makers in earnest, 802.11ax will deliver significant performance over 802.11ac Wi-Fi, with up...
Read more...
A security expert at Belgian university KU Leuven has discovered a major vulnerability in the Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) protocol that could a expose a user's wireless Internet traffic, including usernames and passwords that are entered into secure websites. The vulnerability affects most devices and several operating systems, including Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, and OpenBSD. "Attackers can use this novel attack technique to read information that was previously assumed to be safely encrypted," Marthy Vanhoef, a security expert at Belgian university KU Leuven, wrote in a detailed report...
Read more...
