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Android saves wifi passwords in plaintext to the cloud
91–100 of 172 posts
Re: Android saves wifi passwords in plaintext to the cloud
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes. I just upgraded from one Android phone to another. Was resigned to the tedious nightmare of setting up multiple WiFi connections again. This feature is fantastic. Not that that negates privacy issues but it is a massive user convenience.
You guys can't be serious. How many APs do you even have to use regularly? And slightly related, do you have two factor enabled on your email or is that the end of modern life convenience as well?
Do you never go to a friend's house and use their wifi?
Re: Android saves wifi passwords in plaintext to the cloud
#93What key are you going to encrypt these passwords with? If you were to encrypt passwords in the cloud with a key that's stored on the device, you can't unlock the passwords on a different device (or the same device after flashing), which is the whole point of backing it up in the cloud. If you were to encrypt them with the user's Google Accounts password, the device would need to ask for that password on every startu…
> If you were to encrypt them with the user's Google Accounts password, the device would need to ask for that password on every startup or store the GA password on the device at all times (the latter option is a far greater evil than the current "situation") If we are just talking about encrypting for backup, then that is not correct. The device would only need to ask for the password before the first backup that inc…
Thing is, this is actually not a one-time backup but an ongoing sync. And it's super convenient - I only have to enter the password on one of my devices and then all the others can connect.
Re: Android saves wifi passwords in plaintext to the cloud
#94What key are you going to encrypt these passwords with? If you were to encrypt passwords in the cloud with a key that's stored on the device, you can't unlock the passwords on a different device (or the same device after flashing), which is the whole point of backing it up in the cloud. If you were to encrypt them with the user's Google Accounts password, the device would need to ask for that password on every startu…
What common use case is backing up wifi passwords or any passwords, for that matter? Yeah, there are difficulties here, but I don't want or need you to backup my wifi password. Its none of your business.
I've probably saved hours of phone support because my parents wifi passwords and email setups is saved in their iPhone backup (this is only done if the backups are password protected). When they get a new device it's just a matter of plugging it in, choose restore, and that's it. They do have to enter some payment info again for each new device on the App Store though.
Re: Android saves wifi passwords in plaintext to the cloud
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes. I just upgraded from one Android phone to another. Was resigned to the tedious nightmare of setting up multiple WiFi connections again. This feature is fantastic. Not that that negates privacy issues but it is a massive user convenience.
You guys can't be serious. How many APs do you even have to use regularly? And slightly related, do you have two factor enabled on your email or is that the end of modern life convenience as well?
The first time I traveled to my sister's house for Thanksgiving setting up the WiFi on our devices was a several hour ordeal that stressed out the whole family. They aren't used to keeping track of these things. I'm very glad I have never had to do that again through several device upgrades.
Re: Android saves wifi passwords in plaintext to the cloud
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If you were to encrypt them with the user's Google Accounts password, the device would need to ask for that password on every startup or store the GA password on the device at all times (the latter option is a far greater evil than the current "situation") If we are just talking about encrypting for backup, then that is not correct. The device would only need to ask for the password before the first backup that inc…
Thing is, this is actually not a one-time backup but an ongoing sync. And it's super convenient - I only have to enter the password on one of my devices and then all the others can connect.
Even with ongoing sync there could be an option to store the password on the device, either permanently or to enter it at boot time. Just like with SSH keys.
Re: Android saves wifi passwords in plaintext to the cloud
#97Re: Android saves wifi passwords in plaintext to the cloud
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
Encrypt the data on the device. Backup encrypted version in the cloud. Download encrypted backup to new device. Unencrypt on new device. Merge versions on the device. No need for plaintext on Google servers. No way for monetization by Google. Or to put my alternative another way, how much is a data set mapping WiFi passwords to networks for the city of Bejing worth to a foreign intelligence agency or other state-leve…
You're providing innuendo and "exercises for the reader", not an argument. That's pretty weak. What would such a data set of Redmond be worth to Google? Nothing. Because accessing those networks for industrial espionage (if I read your innuendo right) would be illegal and immoral. It would drag Google's name in the mud, lose them customers, credibility, and most likely a decent chunk of talented employees. The liabil…
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Re: Android saves wifi passwords in plaintext to the cloud
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Horseshit. Setting up a password for an Android device only needs to be done once for each device->network pairing. The reuse of Wifi passwords across devices is an edge case given the predominate ownership pattern of Android devices - i.e. most people have a phone that runs Android and no other Android device. Google's scheme allows them to harvest the passwords to a vast number of wireless networks. Google has harv…
If you're going to dismiss an argument as "horseshit", you should perhaps offer a compelling alternative. Because your idea of what is going on is frankly ridiculous. It's easy to see the user-experience story for this. Upgrade your phone, buy a tablet, etc, and as by magic all 10 wifi networks you use work without any configuration. No need to type that 32-character nuisance of a WPA2 password again, etc. How lovely…
> Because your idea of what is going on is frankly ridiculous.
Really?
> It's easy to see the user-experience story for this.
It's even easier to see how handy millions of wifi passwords might come in handy if you already have the information about the wifi networks you got from war-driving (street view).
You now have access to millions of (private) networks all over the world which you previously had not.
Re: Android saves wifi passwords in plaintext to the cloud
#100You can turn it off if you like: Settings > Privacy > Backup my data, backup application data, Wi-fi passwords, and other settings to Google servers. Every few months someone rediscovers that Google also syncs Wifi credentials between devices (perhaps when logging into a new device and finding it tethers itself nicely to the network on its own). It's a matter of convenience, Wifi passwords are only applicable at a ce…
Hmm. That path doesn't seem to work on my Nexus 4 running Android 4.2.2. The closest I could find is Settings > Backup & reset > Backup my data (Backup app data, Wi-Fi passwords, and other settings to Google services). Tapping this, it says "Stop backing up your Wi-Fi passwords, bookmarks, other settings, and app data, plus erase all copies on Google servers?". So, it sounds like it's all or nothing.
Phew! It appears that my instincts were correct when I first turned on this device.
I keep wifi passphrases in a location that is just as secure as the ethernet network to which the wifi is tied: on a piece of tape on the bottom of the WAP. Looking at this again, in the unlikely event I forget the passphrase, seems not to be a burden.