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WiFi Password

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:51 am
by garyhamon
Is there a way to officially change the meetinghouse WiFi password? It's getting a bit out of control here. We have primary children who know the password and are surfing on their iPods because they have a cousin or family member from another ward who knows the password, some as far away as Utah (I'm in southern Alberta). When we try to get the stake conference broadcasts in our building, we have issues because so many people are already connected.

Has anyone found a way to resolve this?

Thanks,

Gary

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 11:21 am
by aebrown
garyhamon wrote:Is there a way to officially change the meetinghouse WiFi password? It's getting a bit out of control here. We have primary children who know the password and are surfing on their iPods because they have a cousin or family member from another ward who knows the password, some as far away as Utah (I'm in southern Alberta). When we try to get the stake conference broadcasts in our building, we have issues because so many people are already connected.

Has anyone found a way to resolve this?

You can find suggestions in these threads:

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 6:58 am
by johnshaw
Gary,

You brought up 2 issues.

It is best practice and has been repeatedly stressed on the board that wireless be shut down during a broadcast. Even limiting access to a password doesn't help much with 600-800 people in the building, there are enough that have it within the rules to overload the system.

Primary Children using devices during church hours seems to be another interesting issue. At what age is a child using a device for purposes of gospel study and learning or are they just playing games?

We haven't heard about the LDS Account access to the SSID for a while, I wonder what the updated news is on that technology.

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:51 pm
by drepouille
When I called the GSC on Sept 6th, they mentioned that if we replaced our ASA with a 881W, we would some day be able to connect to the WiFi using LDS Accounts instead of the LDSAccess SSID. Or something like that. I am curious to learn more.

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:04 pm
by aebrown
drepouille wrote:When I called the GSC on Sept 6th, they mentioned that if we replaced our ASA with a 881W, we would some day be able to connect to the WiFi using LDS Accounts instead of the LDSAccess SSID. Or something like that. I am curious to learn more.
There have been plans in the works for some time now to require users of the meetinghouse network to use their LDS Account to authenticate. The LDSAccess SSID would still be used for wireless access, but the requirement to also authenticate with LDS Account would allow management of that access. Everything we've heard indicates that the 881W is required for this new system.

It has taken much longer than initially anticipated (as JohnShaw noted in this post), but there are enough clues to safely conclude that it is still being worked on, even if we don't know any deployment schedule.

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:35 pm
by russellhltn
drepouille wrote:we would some day be able to connect to the WiFi using LDS Accounts instead of the LDSAccess SSID. Or something like that. I am curious to learn more.

It was announced here over a year ago. I think the idea was that different groups (Youth, Adults, Leaders, etc.) could be granted different levels of access. We're still waiting.

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:28 am
by aclawson
Not only is the password widely available to primary children but it is widely available on the internet to the general public. On one LDS-themed discussion board I frequent an antagonist to the church, somebody who had previously been a member made a posting along the lines of "hey - are you going to church only because you have to? The wifi password is xxxxxxxx so log on and have some fun browsing on the church's network". There is even a meme about it, joking that a "first world problem" is "wifi password in my chapel isn't xxxxxxxx".

Having a password that provides unlimited access to the network in > 95% of the buildings and has been circulating freely on the internet for at least a year is one of the worst security policies I have ever seen. This is not something that can wait until 2011, no wait - 2012, no wait again, now "by the end of" 2013. We need a clear, concise and easy way to have those wifi passwords changed on request and we need it last year.

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:51 am
by Gary_Miller
I don't see giving out the password as a problem at all. The whole intent of the WIFI in the chapels was to enable members to access to the tools on LDS.ORG when they are at the chapel, which may include checking ones email.

Just last Sunday the Ex-Sec asked me if I read his e-mail he sent me that morning, I was grateful that I could log on the WIFI using my tablet and check the e-mail Right then. I have also been able to do the same thing when traveling in case there was anything that needed my attention.

As a computer user not an IT guy I have found it fascinating that the IT guys always want to have control over the net work by limiting what and who can do things. I've never really understood that thinking as the best thing is to allow access to the information so that all who have a need to know have the tools to get the work done. In the case of the church WIFI all the membership have the need to know when it comes to using the tools on LDS.ORG, so just give them the password so they can.

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 1:24 pm
by johnshaw
Gary, I'll +1 you on this one, I am on record with a similar feeling, the real problem in my mind is not limiting access, but FMG getting appropriate Internet Speeds (The Stake President defines appropriate IMHO).

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 1:27 pm
by russellhltn
That's all well and good if the bandwidth can support all the wants. But not all meetinghouses are located where they can get that much bandwidth. In that case, the priesthood holds to keys as to who should be allowed.