VDSL userid and password encryption?

If you use a separate modem and router for a VDSL connection, are the userid and password encrypted when they are sent from the router to the modem?

Or could they be sniffed?

A modem has nothing to do with encryption. It's merely turning digital signals into analogue and vice versa.

Wireshark is the usual method of obtaining your Sky username and password by sniffing what is sent by the router and they are obviously in the clear.

Edited by deleted (Thu 09-Mar-17 15:27:23)

How you authenticate depends on your ISP. Many ISPs use Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) which provides some security.

Of course for residential BT Broadband the username and password are the same for everyone

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

If you use a separate modem and router for a VDSL connection, are the userid and password encrypted when they are sent from the router to the modem?

Or could they be sniffed?

Some ISPs have no username / password, or a generic one. Examples include talktalk and BT, here it is irrelevant.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Wireshark is the usual method of obtaining your Sky username and password by sniffing what is sent by the router and they are obviously in the clear.

I was wondering if I could do the same on Vodafone. Though I don't know if the router can be configured to work with a separate modem.

In reply to a post by caffn8me:

How you authenticate depends on your ISP. Many ISPs use Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) which provides some security.

As I recall BT Wholesale mandate CHAP. No idea what Vodafone use. In theory as they aren't using a wholesale provider, but are one themselves they have no need to use anything.

Even what's before the @ doesn't matter either, as long as @btbroadband.com is how it ends.

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Wireshark is the usual method of obtaining your Sky username and password by sniffing what is sent by the router and they are obviously in the clear.

I was wondering if I could do the same on Vodafone. Though I don't know if the router can be configured to work with a separate modem.

It works with the combined Sky modem/router

In reply to a post by Ignitionnet:

As I recall BT Wholesale mandate CHAP. No idea what Vodafone use. In theory as they aren't using a wholesale provider, but are one themselves they have no need to use anything.

Vodafone do their best to stop their VDSL customers using their own equipment by refusing to tell them their connection userid and passwords. So if their combined router modem can be configured to work with a separate modem their is a chance that the details could be obtained by sniffing the router-modem connection. But they may well be encrypted