3 ms·

"We have found that AWDL connections do not feature any security mechanism. All action and data frames are sent in plain and without authentication. AWDL delega

"We have found that AWDL connections do not feature any security mechanism. All action and data frames are sent in plain and without authentication. AWDL delegates security functions to the transport and application layer, e. g., AirDrop uses TLS 1.2. The approach appears to be an informed decision to implement application dependant[sic] policies: a device might be trusted for sending an image file via AirDrop, but not for remote-controlling a Keynote presentation."

PaulHoule 8y ago
For that matter I don't like interference on the crowded WiFi bands. It seems some creep uses AirDrop to send some lewds to somebody else on a plane every other week. I want to know my mac is using my wired and wireless network the way I intend rather than degrading the performance of WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Z-Wave, and other protocols that keep piling into unlicensed airspace.
- MBCook 8y ago
  What interference? It sounds like this is using vendor extensions to the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard. I have no idea what the default for AirDrop is, I keep it open only for contacts. If it’s open by default everyone that’s crazy. Doesn’t sound like the kind of thing Apple would do today, although it wouldn’t surprise me if it was like that in the past.
- kccqzy 8y ago
  Sounds like you should just turn off AirDrop.
- jonknee 8y ago
  > I want to know my mac is using my wired and wireless network the way I intend Which it is, you can have AirDrop on or off and to accept connections from everyone or just your contacts. All modes have their uses.
- matthewmacleod 8y ago
  To be clear, this feature is standards-compliant WiFi. It uses standard 802.11 frames and leverages the vendor-specific features to allow custom payloads. It’s not “degrading the performance” of WiFi - it is WiFi.
  - PaulHoule 8y ago
    Unlicensed spectrum is limited. There are just three channels in the 2.4 GHz, and not really more than in the 5 GHz band because most of the 5 GHz band is occupied by weather radar and you can only use that spectrum if you pay the patent trolls for the coexistence technology specified by law. When you turn on a WiFi analyzer program and see many WiFi networks using the same spectrum, there is interference. It isn't that it "stops working" but you will get packet loss, reduced data transfer, etc. Every printer that sets up its own AP, every phone that is a hotspot, is interference. If you want and really use these services that is one thing, but it is insane that people use WiFi to print at a mall store when they could hook up the printer to the register with a 6 foot cable. The article itself shows a substantial degrade of WiFi performance on the Mac itself because the mac is momentarily disconnecting from the real network to stay synchronized with the lewds network.
    - mstute 8y ago
      The degradation happens only when you explicitly start using a service (such as AirDrop) that uses AWDL. The AWDL interface becomes inactive once there is no more traffic on the interface. In the measurements, we show the performance when both infrastructure and AWDL traffic is present (i.e., the Wi-Fi radio needs to switch channels in between). In fact one could argue that AWDL actually reduces "interference" because two neighboring devices can communicate directly and do not need to go an additional one-hop detour over an access point.

PaulHoule 8y ago

For that matter I don't like interference on the crowded WiFi bands. It seems some creep uses AirDrop to send some lewds to somebody else on a plane every other week. I want to know my mac is using my wired and wireless network the way I intend rather than degrading the performance of WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Z-Wave, and other protocols that keep piling into unlicensed airspace.

MBCook 8y ago
What interference? It sounds like this is using vendor extensions to the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard. I have no idea what the default for AirDrop is, I keep it open only for contacts. If it’s open by default everyone that’s crazy. Doesn’t sound like the kind of thing Apple would do today, although it wouldn’t surprise me if it was like that in the past.
kccqzy 8y ago
Sounds like you should just turn off AirDrop.
jonknee 8y ago
> I want to know my mac is using my wired and wireless network the way I intend Which it is, you can have AirDrop on or off and to accept connections from everyone or just your contacts. All modes have their uses.
matthewmacleod 8y ago
To be clear, this feature is standards-compliant WiFi. It uses standard 802.11 frames and leverages the vendor-specific features to allow custom payloads. It’s not “degrading the performance” of WiFi - it is WiFi.
- PaulHoule 8y ago
  Unlicensed spectrum is limited. There are just three channels in the 2.4 GHz, and not really more than in the 5 GHz band because most of the 5 GHz band is occupied by weather radar and you can only use that spectrum if you pay the patent trolls for the coexistence technology specified by law. When you turn on a WiFi analyzer program and see many WiFi networks using the same spectrum, there is interference. It isn't that it "stops working" but you will get packet loss, reduced data transfer, etc. Every printer that sets up its own AP, every phone that is a hotspot, is interference. If you want and really use these services that is one thing, but it is insane that people use WiFi to print at a mall store when they could hook up the printer to the register with a 6 foot cable. The article itself shows a substantial degrade of WiFi performance on the Mac itself because the mac is momentarily disconnecting from the real network to stay synchronized with the lewds network.
  - mstute 8y ago
    The degradation happens only when you explicitly start using a service (such as AirDrop) that uses AWDL. The AWDL interface becomes inactive once there is no more traffic on the interface. In the measurements, we show the performance when both infrastructure and AWDL traffic is present (i.e., the Wi-Fi radio needs to switch channels in between). In fact one could argue that AWDL actually reduces "interference" because two neighboring devices can communicate directly and do not need to go an additional one-hop detour over an access point.