Using the cloud to crack your local WiFI

Just come across this service that has been set up to use a cluster of 400 CPUs in cloud computing to crack WiFi passwords.

WPA Cracker is a low cost cloud cracking service for penetration testers and network auditors who need to check the security of WPA-PSK protected wireless networks, or for you to recover your WiFi password.The strange thing is that you could use this to crack a nearby WiFi access port for a few dollars paid via an Amazon account.
WPA-PSK networks are vulnerable to dictionary attacks, but running a respectable-sized dictionary over a WPA network handshake can take 5 days on a standard dual core desktop and more on a laptop. WPA Cracker gives access to a 400CPU cluster that will run your network capture against a 135 million word dictionary created specifically for WPA passwords. Initially the service was in English, and is now in German, and has an extended dictionary of another 284m words.
The cluster it takes an average of 20 minutes, for only $35, or the half node can be used for $17 for up to 40 minutes.

Related article

• New Cloud hacking service (ecombizcenter.blogspot.com)
• GSM Encryption Cracked After 21 Years (techie-buzz.com)
• USA Has More Open WiFi Wireless Hotspots Than EU (news.slashdot.org)
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/12/07/cloud_based_password_cracking/

802.11n in 87% of Wi-Fi Smartphones by 2014

Although 802.11n Wi-Fi technology was found in less than 1% of Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones last year, in 2014 at least 87% of Wi-Fi-capable smartphones will feature this latest of the 802.11 protocols, says ABI Research.
However, users of these phones shouldn’t expect laptop-like performance, at least not initially.“Driven by chip-makers more than by handset vendors, 802.11n is making its official debut in higher-end smartphones in 2010,” says ABI Research industry analyst Michael Morgan. “802.11n is arriving in the handset just at the right time. We had to wait for consumers to switch over to 802.11n access points, and we’re just now reaching that tipping point. Something like 50% of the Wi-Fi access points on offer are now 11n. Consumers are becoming aware of what it can do.”
However, warns Morgan, “At first, 802.11n-enabled handsets will not offer MIMO or some of 11n’s more advanced enhancements. So users won’t see the same degree of improvement that they would with a laptop or netbook. While 802.11n will start to penetrate mid- and lower-end smartphones from about 2012 on, the full power of the protocol won’t be available in most handsets until 2014 or later.”
It costs manufacturers virtually no more to include 802.11n in handsets alongside the current “b” and “g” protocols. And those older technologies won’t be going away, because handsets will need to work in the widest possible range of connectivity environments. The same applies to frequencies: 802.11n works best in the 5 GHz band, while b and g are restricted to 2.4 GHz. So, says Morgan, “It's important for vendors to continue offering all these protocols and if possible selectable frequency capabilities for some time to come.

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