On Mon 29 Jul 2019 at 09:34:25 (-0400), Dan Ritter wrote: > john doe wrote: > > What about Powerline (PLC), any better then Wireless with regard to > > security? > > All the useful Powerline devices are either connected to your > hosts via WiFi or ethernet, so that leaves them out.
Most PCs require power, so one could strap the cat5 cable to the power cable to keep it tidy. (Some of my cat5 cables have lost their locking tabs, so I put a bag tie round the keyboard and cat5 plugs so that the cat5 doesn't pop out.) > In a single-family house, Powerline is about as secure as wired > ethernet: you need to come in and plug something in to spy on > it. > > In an apartment block or other shared-infrastructure situation, > Powerline is potentially as insecure as WiFi. It's possible that households sharing a pole transformer might also pick up the signals. It does claim to be encrypted, though. > Most people use Powerline as a substitute for running a single > ethernet cable across a house: it's pretty good but not perfect. > > Multistation Powerline is less effective. It works well in this house. The router feeds a Powerline 1200 (1-port), and its twin (you buy them in pairs) runs a server in the basement. A Powerline 500 (2-port) runs two PCs in the attic, and its twin is in the other half of the house, across a bridge. That handles a Roku, with one spare port. It came as a surprise to me that the two models interoperated. I set them up in the kitchen, where there are most outlets. You have to press their buttons within a limited time so they can all share their keys. Cheers, David.
