Hi there.
I am running a Homepass since a couple of days now (You probably got my Mii, already
) and stumbled upon really weird stuff.
Some hardware do use methods to activate AP-Mode which are completely different to any guides.
For example, I run Homepass with this:
BIGtec 150Mbit nano USB WLAN Stick Adapter
It has an Ralink RT5370 chipset, capable of AP-Mode aaaand here is where the madness starts.
1.) When switching the WLAN-Adapter into AccessPoint-mode, it creates a Virtual Wifi-Adapter.
2.) The Virtual WiFi-Adapter
completely ignores the HostedNetwork-Settings, so no "netsh wlan set HostedNetwork" for this.
3.) It uses an unencrypted Ad-Hoc on the hardware adapter, which is acknowledged by Windows. (Can turn it on and off that way)
4.) While the UNENCRYPTED Ad-hoc is connected, it can use ENCRYPTED connections. O-o
To explain:
All settings have to be done with the Ralink Connection Manager (RCM), all other settings just get ignored.
If I setup an encrypted SSID via RCM, the one Windows sees is an Unencrypted Ad-hoc, but it really is encrypted.
If I change the encryption on the Windows Ad-hoc, it gets reset to unencrypted.
So it does an encrypted SSID over unencrypted SSID. >_>
5.) The WLAN-Stick Drivers crashes after switching the MAC's 4 times. (I had set timeout to 15, drivers don't like that i guess)
Didn't found out the reason
It worked properly the next day again.
I set the name of the Virtual Wifi-Adapter to "attwifi" before, probably this interfered somehow and broke it.
Right now, I somehow managed to have
MACycle 2.0 beta 1.71 work (which doesn't work correctly anyway) with this piece of hardware.
Here is where my second analysis starts.
Due to reasons -
I don't want to have an open AP running 24/7 , so I had to play with the settings (to secure that thing) and here is what I found out:
The 3DS ( I own a n3DS ) completely
ignores (sorta) encrypted "attwifi", even if it has the password for it.
But, the problem herein isn't the connection.
The 3DS seems to send all connection data (SSID,
password, MAC) to the Nintendo Servers.
On an encrypted "attwifi", it just ends after that step.
On an open "attwifi", it forwards to the StreetPass-Servers (even if I correctly setup encrypted attwifi in the 3DS settings before).
I can't tell specific details wtf Nintendo exactly did, because the traffic is encrypted.
So, I can't use encrypted "attwifi" for StreetPasses >_>
Next try.
MAC filtering, duh. This is no security. Setup anyway.
Next try.
Hiding the attwifi SSID... This isn't security. The 3DS doesn't find it either, so it has to be visible. Failed.
Next try.
Tuning down the TX Power. Well, I wonder how much % "Low" appears to be.
There is no way to set it to 5% or 10%, which would cover only the inside of a single room (hopefully).
Next try.
So, in that case I wrote a small script, which is then set into windows scheduling.
This small script turns off the Wi-Fi after login, so I have to enable it by another script or MACycle directly.
As long I farm StreetPasses, MACycle does
messup the connection as soon it shifts the MAC , so anyone who tries to download stuff over it just either gets:
- Disconnected every 7 Minutes
- Has a connection slower then GPRS thanks to "Low" TX Power.
As soon a 3DS blinks green, it doesn't use the Homepass Connection anymore, all data have been already sent/recieved .
Here is where you could turn off the Wifi manually, for example.
If there was a way to setup a firewall, so only the 3DS can access the internet or rather all Nintendo Related Servers, this connection can be secured properly.
But the downside: Someone has to gather all hostnames/IP of each and every StreetPass-Game!
I only own 3 games for now: FE:A, Smash Bros, StreetPass-Lobby and Tomodachi is arriving this week.
Sidenote: In Fire Emblem you can't use StreetPass unless you cleared chapter 3 or 4, you need to set it up after it unlocks.
In Smash, you have to enable it manually.
(Got only 3 StreetPasses for Smash, where I got HUNDREDS for the Mii-Lobby, lol)
The other problem I encountered is with MACycle 2.0 beta 1.71 itself.
All other functions besides "Basic MAC" and it's cycling do not work for unknown reasons...
But I better post that into the right thread, so Team Fail (oh the irony) can fix that (please? )
And since I (or rather my family) lives somewhere outside major city, I was thinking about getting this:
Signal King 20DBI Outdoor USB Wireless Adapter Antenna 150Mbps )
This antenna covers 3 km (4 miles ? ) and I am not sure if in diameter or radius.
This would seed almost 5% of the entire city they live in, including several schools. xD
But 2 Watts may be really bad for their health, so I am not buying this for indoor use.
Just in case you want to include other people's StreetPasses (and we find a way to secure it tight) and you have a house with access to the roof you can buy that WLAN-Adapter.
