WiFi Security: I like to use the analogy of door locks

I came across a post on http://lifehacker.com titled “How to Crack a Wi-Fi Network’s WEP Password with BackTrack“. The article itself is good but one of the comment by commenter “MaribelAlligator” made a lot of sense.

“I like to use the analogy of door locks. WEP is closest to a bathroom or bedroom lock (the kind you can unlock with a stiff pin). It’ll let people know you don’t want them to enter, but anyone with a the slightest bit of knowledge can get past it. WPA is like a standard door lock; it’s a lot more secure, but it is still possible to get by for someone with the right tools, knowledge, and circumstances. WPA2 is like a bank safe. It may be possible to defeat, depending on how it’s been set up, but it’s not realistically possible for anybody to actually do so… yet. Just to continue the analogy to other Wifi security methods, not broadcasting your SSID is like taking the numbers off of your house – The house is still there and everyone can see it, it’s just a bit harder to find for people that don’t know what they are looking for already. Filtering by MAC address is like having a guard at the door that checks everyone’s name against a list to see if they can enter. The only problem is, he doesn’t ask for ID or remember what people look like, so anybody can and can listen in to see what names are allowed and then claim to be anybody else.” –MaribelAlligator on lifehaker.com

I like the description. I just may have to steal that. (tounge in cheek moment)