Park City

Doesnt it seem a bit odd that MS would choose to remove the ability to sync via wifi? If Bluetooth modules in most laptops/desktops had a longer range I could possibly see the logic behind it.

Thoughts? Comments?

Brad
Park City, Utah

CookieKid

It's because they wanted to release AS near the same time as WM5. Their reasoning for taking it out was because wifi sync'ing is insecure. Once they've figured out how to secure it, they'll put it back in. I really hope they put it back in before WM5 because I prefer wifi sync more than BT sync (especially with the stupid stack error everytime I turn on BT )

and235100

I personally think WiFi is not far less secure than BT. More people use WiFi than BT, and if it is so unsecure, why to people use it so much? Also, any items that you are synching are probably not in much danger of being intercepted, becase with wifi the transmission is going to be faster than a BT connection. Therefore, there is hardly any time for interception.

sugar_cube

Quote:

if it is so unsecure, why to people use it so much

Because it's easy to use (well, in theory, it's easy to use )

Quote:

any items that you are synching are probably not in much danger of being intercepted

There are programs available that can record packets being sent, regardless of the speed of transmission. The user can then examine the packets in 'slow time' & decipher what was transmitted.

My view on this is that nothing is airtight - there will always be some way of getting round the security. What you need to do is to make the snooper's job so hard that he moves on elsewhere (kinda like deterring burglars - if you lock all doors & windows he'll move on & search for a house with an open window). Hopefully that is what we are doing now (with SSID, Mac addresses, security codes etc), but I assume MS are trying to find a way to make things even more secure.

jsnole

Took me long enough to get mine to do the wifi syncing, now i wont be able to after the upgrade!

CookieKid

Originally Posted by jsnole

Took me long enough to get mine to do the wifi syncing, now i wont be able to after the upgrade!

Yeah..that's the ugly of WM5, you HAVE to use it with AS4. However, I figured some highly skilled people will most likely figure out how to get WiFi sync'ing working again.

jsnole

I hope someone will do just that....

imported_tea2004

Originally Posted by Park City

Doesnt it seem a bit odd that MS would choose to remove the ability to sync via wifi? If Bluetooth modules in most laptops/desktops had a longer range I could possibly see the logic behind it. Thoughts? Comments? Brad Park City, Utah

I nned test

borg975

IF wifi is THAT insecure, how come Microsoft are pushing for wireless networking and that wireless intenet access is growing stronger by the day.

Does anyone actually know what the weakness is when syncing via wifi???

internetadam

mobiletechreview.com has an intro to win mo 5, and had this to say about wi-fi syncing:

Originally Posted by mobiletechreview.com

Beware: gone is the ability to sync over WiFi because syncing over a pubic unsecured medium is too risky. You can sync over WiFi if you're using a VPN connection however. WiFi syncing may make a comeback. Microsoft couldn't create secure WiFi syncing in time to release version 4.0 and that's why it's gone.

ctitanic

BT sync is back in AS4.1

http://en.pdamobiz.com/en/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=375

__________________
CTitanic
Microsoft MVP on Tablet PC/UMPC
Blog: http://www.ultramobilepc-tips.com
Tweaks2K2 at 33% OFF for Axim Users

hterzian

This is crap from MS... Why are they so concerned on security? they should make it available to user with a waiver on security....

It should be the choice of the user...

__________________
PalmPilot III->Palm Vx->Tungsten T->Tungsten C->IPaQ4150->IPAQ4700