New Solution For ISPs Makes Home Wi-Fi Network Accessible From Anywhere

[btarunr]

Anyfi Networks today announced the general availability of their flagship Wi-Fi mobility solution for Internet service providers, Anyfi.net Simple. "We call it Simple because it's so simple to use: there is absolutely nothing the subscriber needs to do to connect on the go, not even the first time. It's like having your home Wi-Fi network follow you around wherever you go" said Johan Almbladh, CTO of Anyfi Networks. "There is no software to install on the device and no manual registration process. If you have connected your device to Wi-Fi at home it will connect automatically whenever you are close to any one of the ISPs residential gateways."

The trick is combining Wi-Fi with IP, Internet Protocol, to break the tie between logical network and physical access point, effectively letting every subscriber access their own home Wi-Fi remotely, through any residential gateway in the ISPs network.



"Our patent pending software, embedded in the residential gateway firmware, listens on the radio for mobile devices. When one is detected the software creates a 'virtual access point' that is indistinguishable from the visitors own home access point. The mobile device will connect to this virtual access point automatically and, when it does, we simply tunnel the raw Wi-Fi radio traffic over the Internet to the visitors own home gateway, where the device can be authenticated using the standard WPA2 security mechanism" explained Johan Almbladh. "Not only do you get a completely seamless user experience but you also get perfect end-to-end security."

The company has been trialing the solution with select Internet service providers for over a year and now claims it is ready for prime time. "The challenge has been in implementing support for all the Wi-Fi chipsets commonly used in residential gateways. Now we have verified the solution on chipsets from the three main vendors in this space. This means we can quickly integrate the software in just about any residential gateway and are ready to start working with more ISPs and residential gateway vendors" said Björn Smedman, CEO of Anyfi Networks.

While this managed solution is targeted at ISPs that can remotely update the firmware in their residential gateways the technology as such is available to anyone. "Our goal is to create an open technology platform," said Björn Smedman. "Our software is available to all residential gateway vendors under a no-charge royalty-free license, and evaluation firmware images can be downloaded from our website."

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[theJesus]

The PR isn't too clear on this, but am I correct in assuming this works by allowing to connect to the equipment in other people's homes? If so, then I don't care what they say about security, I don't like it.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

So you will still need a wireless router in your home or you have to pay per device?
Double wireless=No gaming unless they know something I don't....

 

[dorsetknob]

Some Questions.
If they can bypass my Security without my permission that's Computer fraud (they will "NEVER" get my Permission.). Who do i Sue ?/ prosecute
Who is Legally Responsible if some one using this Downloads Illegal Copyrighted Content
As the Law Stands in most Country's its the WiFi equipment owner who is Legally Responsible
and who pays for the bandwidth if they can bypass my security
I Might be on a Capped Tariff will this affect my Capped Allowance

 

[1freedude]

This is torrents for wifi. The more users on the grid, the more seamless your network will become.

 

[Easy Rhino]

i think people are misunderstanding what this does.

this is a device that ISPs can place anywhere they wish. sort of like a wireless access point or wimax connection but instead of your laptop connecting to a regular WAP when you are away from your home, it tunnels the connection securely to your home wireless router over the internet.

 

[Jstn7477]

i think people are misunderstanding what this does.

this is a device that ISPs can place anywhere they wish. sort of like a wireless access point or wimax connection but instead of your laptop connecting to a regular WAP when you are away from your home, it tunnels the connection securely to your home wireless router over the internet.

Exactly. Others seem to think it "hacks" your device or something, when it really makes your home router "available" everywhere via tunneling. And since your router is "available" everywhere, your devices don't need any settings changed.

 

[Mindweaver]

i think people are misunderstanding what this does.

this is a device that ISPs can place anywhere they wish. sort of like a wireless access point or wimax connection but instead of your laptop connecting to a regular WAP when you are away from your home, it tunnels the connection securely to your home wireless router over the internet.

We have a WINNER! hehehe Well said!

 

[theJesus]

i think people are misunderstanding what this does.

this is a device that ISPs can place anywhere they wish. sort of like a wireless access point or wimax connection but instead of your laptop connecting to a regular WAP when you are away from your home, it tunnels the connection securely to your home wireless router over the internet.

OK, I get that, but what are you connecting to in the first place then? What are these "residential gateways" the PR mentions?

 

[Jstn7477]

OK, I get that, but what are you connecting to in the first place then? What are these "residential gateways" the PR mentions?

Probably the router/modem provided by your ISP, as that's that's what I believe.

 

[Easy Rhino]

OK, I get that, but what are you connecting to in the first place then? What are these "residential gateways" the PR mentions?

sounds like a bad marketing term to confuse people with technical minds

i am not totally sure what that does. i dont know if it something that already exists or something that the ISP will have to install in order to use this new software. essentially these new devices are like using a VPN but without having to go through the hassle of using third party VPN software and setting it all up every time you change a WAP. this is just added value that ISPs can offer to their customers.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

I'd like to see what Latencies are gonna be involved....I just don't see being able to play FPS's

 

[theJesus]

sounds like a bad marketing term to confuse people with technical minds

i am not totally sure what that does. i dont know if it something that already exists or something that the ISP will have to install in order to use this new software. essentially these new devices are like using a VPN but without having to go through the hassle of using third party VPN software and setting it all up every time you change a WAP. this is just added value that ISPs can offer to their customers.

Ya see, it sounds to me like they're gonna be using ISP-provided equipment already in customer's homes to serve other customers. VPN, tunneling, whatever, or not, I still see that approach as a huge security concern.

 

[Disruptor4]

i think people are misunderstanding what this does.

this is a device that ISPs can place anywhere they wish. sort of like a wireless access point or wimax connection but instead of your laptop connecting to a regular WAP when you are away from your home, it tunnels the connection securely to your home wireless router over the internet.

Thank god someone else also understood this, unlike the bunch of people above.

 

[dorsetknob]

my questions are still valid
this so called VPN via tunneling.to your home wi fi unit would still have to go through "Someone else Wifi Equipment to reach its home WiFi
Would that "Someone else Be Legally Responsible and Liable if some one using this Downloads Illegal Copyrighted Content (remember they are using your equipment to vpn tunnel)
As the Law Stands in most Country's its the WiFi equipment owner who is Legally Responsible
and because they are using your equipment + Bandwidth who ends up paying for VPN Tunneling Bandwidth.
Again if I'm Bandwidth capped how is this VPN Tunneling affect my Capped Allowance after all said and done this VPN is using my wi fi connection >>> broadband to back haul to some other persons wi fi

these "residential gateways" the PR mentions? would be ISP-provided equipment already in customer's homes utilized to serve other customers.

 

[1freedude]

I have been reading the extensive documentation http://anyfi.net/documentation

Its actually a paradigm shift, from the minute bit of networking and connectivity I think I know.

Now, a question...what if you want to use the "guest" network not as a tunnel, but its actual network?

 

[bbmarley]

this is just like BTfon here in england
you opt in to the btfon community
download app on phone
get free unlimited wifi all over at btfon and btopenzone points
when they say unlimited its 10k minutes then after that you can still use but get disconnected every 30 mins incase you hogging it

 

[theJesus]

I have been reading the extensive documentation http://anyfi.net/documentation

Its actually a paradigm shift, from the minute bit of networking and connectivity I think I know.

Now, a question...what if you want to use the "guest" network not as a tunnel, but its actual network?

That's a very interesting read for anybody into this stuff.

 

[Mussels]

its a useless tech, with the speed of internet connections around here. sounds just like a VPN tunnel.

 

[jatech]

my questions are still valid
this so called VPN via tunneling.to your home wi fi unit would still have to go through "Someone else Wifi Equipment to reach its home WiFi
Would that "Someone else Be Legally Responsible and Liable if some one using this Downloads Illegal Copyrighted Content (remember they are using your equipment to vpn tunnel)
As the Law Stands in most Country's its the WiFi equipment owner who is Legally Responsible
and because they are using your equipment + Bandwidth who ends up paying for VPN Tunneling Bandwidth.

I work for Anyfi Networks.

The VPN tunnel carries raw Wi-Fi frames from the visited Wi-Fi router to the home Wi-Fi router. The visited router only acts as an antenna - no traffic is ever terminated there. You can think of the VPN tunnel as a very long antenna cable connecting new antennas to the home router on demand. The visiting user can never access your LAN, your encrypted Wi-Fi or use your IP address on the web.

As a visiting user you will get a public IP address from your home so no one else will get the blame for anything you do on the Internet. The WPA encryption goes all the way from your client device to your home so the owner of the visited router cannot eavesdrop on your data. From the client device point of view, you are at home.

The PR is primarily geared towards ISPs, but the technology as such is available to anyone. If you are comfortable with OpenWrt you can download firmware from http://anyfi.net/getit/firmware for popular consumer Wi-Fi routers and try it out yourself. There is also an FAQ http://anyfi.net/faq.

BTW, "residential gateway" is ISP lingo for the modem/router installed in the subscriber's home.

 

[jatech]

I have been reading the extensive documentation http://anyfi.net/documentation

Its actually a paradigm shift, from the minute bit of networking and connectivity I think I know.

Now, a question...what if you want to use the "guest" network not as a tunnel, but its actual network?

Thanks for taking the time to understand it.

The Anyfi.net Wi-Fi networks are just proxies for different remote Wi-Fi networks - there is no "guest" SSID. It is also theoretically impossible to terminate that traffic locally since the encryption keys are not available in the visited Wi-Fi router.

On the other hand the Anyfi.net functionality does not affect the normal Wi-Fi functionality in any way. If you want a dedicated "guest access" network you can set that it up just as you would do today.

 

[Mussels]

jatech: is it possible for someone to sniff or record the encrypted WPA data? since WPA encryption can be broken, couldnt this be used to remotely hack a users home network, once the initial data is sniffed (and the time spent to crack the WPA/2 encryption) ?

 

[theJesus]

BTW, "residential gateway" is ISP lingo for the modem/router installed in the subscriber's home.

Alright, that's what I thought and it's my primary concern for the following reason:

jatech: is it possible for someone to sniff or record the encrypted WPA data? since WPA encryption can be broken, couldnt this be used to remotely hack a users home network, once the initial data is sniffed (and the time spent to crack the WPA/2 encryption) ?

 

[jatech]

jatech: is it possible for someone to sniff or record the encrypted WPA data? since WPA encryption can be broken, couldnt this be used to remotely hack a users home network, once the initial data is sniffed (and the time spent to crack the WPA/2 encryption) ?

There is a security vulnerability with the WPS configuration mechanism which is often referred to as cracking WPA. For security reasons WPS is disabled on the Anyfi.net remote Wi-Fi networks.

We don't add any extra encryption layer but instead rely on the standard link-level WPA or WPA2 authentication and encryption mechanisms that we extend all the way to your home router. To eavesdrop on the encrypted WPA communication you must have access to the WPA passphrase. That passphrase never leaves your home Wi-Fi router.

Like other encryption methods the WPA passphrase can be recovered by a dictionary attack if you have chosen a weak passphrase. Residential gateways provided by an ISP are often pre-configured to use random WPA passphrases. If you manage your own router it is up to you to choose a strong WPA passphrase.

If you are really paranoid you can disable remote LAN access, in which case you only get Internet access when mobile. All this is configurable in the firmware images you can download from our website.

 

[jatech]

BTW, GigaOM had a story about the technology yesterday.
http://gigaom.com/broadband/swedens-anyfi-turns-any-wi-fi-network-into-a-small-cell