Can't use australianfrequentflyer from Virgin lounge wifi in Brisbane

[simongr]

What a PITA that is when its in place, and note I said "depending on how its done". Again, not worth the effort, BTW Maccas restrict WIFI access for a difference reason that has nothing to do with malicious activity by its users.

Why is it a pain? Works fine in SIN for example - grab the password on entry and done.

 

[oz_mark]

Such a restriction would actually be in breach of ACMAs laws depending on how its done, in reality its hard to do without very good planning and I suspect the effort would not be worth the result!

Which law would that be?

 

[markis10]

Why is it a pain? Works fine in SIN for example - grab the password on entry and done.

For example, 50 people wanting codes when the lounge opens. As I said, its not worth the effort, which probably explains why others dont do it either, there are easier ways to prevent bad activity happening without impacting a users experience with a token system.

Which law would that be?

The class licence conditions in regards to use of low interference potential devices under the radio communications act in the case of jamming or using overly high directional antennas that exceed the EIRP limits for the frequency band.

 

[Andyc]

I'd like to see the lounge adopt WPA passwords just for security reasons. No need for slips of paper, just have a small wall plaque with "Today's WiFi Password:".
My understanding (with no IT qualifications) is that on an unprotected network, unencrypted communications can be intercepted.
There was a Firefox extension that gained notoriety last year for making it quite simple to do just that.

 

[DeKa]

I'd like to see the lounge adopt WPA passwords just for security reasons. No need for slips of paper, just have a small wall plaque with "Today's WiFi Password:".

Why? Just use VPN. If you don't work for a company that provides VPN, sign up for a cheap VPN account.

 

[jetlagger]

From my experiences most o/s lounges require a password, which in my view works fine each & every time, & usually restricts the lingering types near the lounge..

 

[Andyc]

Why? Just use VPN. If you don't work for a company that provides VPN, sign up for a cheap VPN account.

Thanks DeKa. I do. I have a personal VPN account I use for hotels and, as a nice added benefit, US television services.
But I would say that a VPN is a little advanced for your average user.

 

[AsterisK]

ahh great work, I sent through a report on Sunday night when I got the banned IP message but no response - glad it's fixed thanks admin!

 

[oz_mark]

The class licence conditions in regards to use of low interference potential devices under the radio communications act in the case of jamming or using overly high directional antennas that exceed the EIRP limits for the frequency band.

So not actually 'laws'.

 

[markis10]

So not actually 'laws'.

i am not a lawyer but an act is a law in the eyes of the courts who have imposed penalties for similar/same examples. A quick call to ACMA would no doubt provide a more authoritive answer than any posted on a frequent flyer forum, especially the Melbourne office who have been busy of late in that area.

 

[AsterisK]

I honestly don't know why we aren't required to use our Velocity # and password to authenticate... But hey...

Really not that hard, or expensive. They already have the details through the website, just a matter of linking it up to the correct systems / networks....

 

[AsterisK]

Such a restriction would actually be in breach of ACMAs laws depending on how its done, in reality its hard to do without very good planning and I suspect the effort would not be worth the result!

It is not a breach to reduce your wifi power output or use directional antennas, however.

 

[medhead]

i am not a lawyer but an act is a law in the eyes of the courts who have imposed penalties for similar/same examples. A quick call to ACMA would no doubt provide a more authoritive answer than any posted on a frequent flyer forum, especially the Melbourne office who have been busy of late in that area.

Well technically a licence condition is not a law contained in an Act. But it is certainly a subordinate regulation that has the full force of the parent Act. So in affect a licence condition is a law (provided it is legally valid under the parent Act and/or any other Act that takes precedence over the parent Act)


Sent from the Throne

 

[oz_mark]

i am not a lawyer but an act is a law in the eyes of the courts who have imposed penalties for similar/same examples.

An Act is a law.

Your examples sound more like regulations, which, while they are not law, are still quite enforceable.

 

[markis10]

It is not a breach to reduce your wifi power output or use directional antennas, however.

Using directional antennas that result in an EIRP is a breach, and happens a bit on 2.4, where the EIRP is 4W and many corporate APs output power is assumed to be radiated via a low gain omni, or the APs are configured to the wrong country code/entity resulting in say ETSI regs.

 

[greenfish]

As AsterisK mentioned, the measures required to reduce AP coverage won't impact any regulation/laws (i.e. reducing power or using low gain directional antennas); likely breaches occur when attempting to boost AP range through power output / high gain antennas. Many government departments I work with work hard to minimise wifi coverage outside of their office footprint, using both reduced power and directional APs.

If VA aren't going to restrict the range of the APs, they really should implement some form of authentication just to protect the resource for lounge members, and to avoid blacklisting of their IP addresses by other organisations.

BTW, thanks very much for fixing it so quickly!

 

[markis10]

Well technically a licence condition is not a law contained in an Act. But it is certainly a subordinate regulation that has the full force of the parent Act. So in affect a licence condition is a law (provided it is legally valid under the parent Act and/or any other Act that takes precedence over the parent Act)


Sent from the Throne

Operating a device beyond the conditions of its licence is specifically a breach of the radio communications act, sect 46:

Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS ACT 1992 - SECT 46

Unlicensed operation of radiocommunications devices
(1) Subject to section 49, a person must not operate a radiocommunications device otherwise than as authorised by:

(a) a spectrum licence; or

(b) an apparatus licence; or

(c) a class licence.

Penalty:

(a) if the radiocommunications device is a radiocommunications transmitter:

(i) if the offender is an individual--imprisonment for 2 years; or

(ii) otherwise--1,500 penalty units; or

(b) if the radiocommunications device is not a radiocommunications transmitter--20 penalty units.

 

[serfty]

Why bother with directional stuff - a simple password changing monthly would go far to preventing the issue.

 

[greenfish]

Why bother with directional stuff - a simple password changing monthly would go far to preventing the issue.

Ideally you'd do both. If the signal is present, people will try to brute force the password, which could hurt the performance of the portal. It isn't hard when doing a refit, to minimise signal spill outside of the lounge.

 

[markis10]

I am still puzzled why people think restricting the lounge wireless will reduce problems, do you honestly think a better class of people is in the lounge versus outside it? Until a few years ago I must admit I did, until I had my laptop stolen, and on reporting it to the lounge manager I was told they had lots of issues including the rather large PCs walking.