How secure is internet with USB dongle ? (Ubuntu OS)

I am thinking of getting one on promotion here. http://www.cellc.co.za/internet/dat...omotion-supersonic-surfing-for-only-5c-per-mb

They are based on Huawei modems and I think Ubuntu will pick them up without modprobe - i.e. plug and play hopefully.

I am currently on ADSL with Netgear router and intend to use the speedstick as backup, also the speeds are faster than my ADSL.

My concern is security. Any advice there ?

 

What do you mean security? What did you have in mind?
Mrk

 

yes i also like to ask same question i guss ocky means in router you have wpa2 encryption ....etc for wifi security (wireless network signal transmission)

i also wonder what kinda security is there on usb modems in term of wireless network signal transmission or radio signal transmission whatever you call

 

Geez, I have never used one of these things ever; plus I know that I know nothing.
Was just wondering how easy it is to hack the sim card as opposed to being behind a good router.
I suppose there is not too much to worry about as the security protocols are of course handled by the browser, plus I have enabled firewall.

In short I have no idea, especially after having had 2½ glasses of wine (big ones).

In other words would you feel equally safe using an HSPA+ enabled USB speedstick as mentioned in my OP link as with being behind a router ?

 

In terms of firewall, you are using only one instead of two. Of course this reduces your overall security "potential". But if you've set up everything correctly one is just as good as two. However, if you made a mistake with iptables (which is easy to do...) no NAT will safe your day.

The other point is more related to privacy. For one you have to trust your carrier instead of ISP, probably doesn't change anything. Then there's 3rd party sniffing. AFAIK HSPA+ uses the KASUMI cipher which is vulnerable to some attacks but I think there's still some way to go before we see script kiddy ready tools like they have for WEP and WPA.

Overview on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KASUMI_(block_cipher)#Cryptanalysis

Finally, something to scare you...
Remote kernel exploit in the Huawei driver. Well, or something like that.
Here's their track record: http://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-5979/Huawei.html

But more seriously, as long as your iptables are fine, go ahead.

 

Thanks katio, you are a veritable wikipedia
I think I will go for it (as backup), the ADSL connections here are a bit iffy and recently I had to phone in a few times to ask the ISP to reset my router the port. Truly the dark continent.

 

WPA2 is almost impossible to crack if paraphrase is strong and encryption is AES 256 bit try brute force attack sitting below your router and run continuous for week at least then you get my point @katio

strong password i mean this for routers

if you want to go for paranoid mode

https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm

 

Yes, I know. I stated nothing to the contrary.
Since there are easy to use tools widely available that can be used successful against WPA and its variants (brute force or the weaknesses in TKIP) this is a security issue to think about when deploying it.
Against HSPA+ no such tools has been released (to my knowledge), from that point one could say it's more secure than WEP2-AES. Even though KASUMI is weaker than AES and even if weak passphrases are used an attack would still be impossible for the average script kiddie. Of course this is nothing but security through obscurity, nothing to get complacent about (@3GPP...)