Michael Lotz updated last night Haiku's implementation of the wpa_supplicant, the wonderful piece of software that allows us to use our wireless connections while using our favorite OS. This brought it up to version 2.0 but more importantly than version numbering, it brought some big changes, where the users are concerned.
A small but most welcomed (at least by me) change was giving focus on start to the password field. Small thing I know, I just found it annoying. A big change is implementing leaving a network but an even bigger change (the big one) is "storing of the password using BKeyStore"!
I spoke with Michael this afternoon (thanks for taking the time) about these changes and one thing he mentioned is the work that still needs to be done, fixing the existing problems. His next target is to fix the autojoin logic. This is caused by the net_server initiating random autojoin requests which (if the password is stored) breaks the connection, though it's not noticeable by the user. This is a tough one, since the joining process is asynchronous, making it very hard to choose the right moment when to start an autojoin, especially when, as Michael mentioned, the wpa_supplicant isn't providing useful feedback.
One other thing Michael mentioned, for the (near?) future, is the possibility of integrating the keystore server into the registrar or the app_server. This would not only mean one less server running but also, seeing as the registrar already handles user management along with encrypted passwords, a very nice fit.
A couple more items were mentioned, the encryption of the keystore, seeing as at the moment it's in plain BMessage and making applications fully verified. Encryption of the keystore pretty much explains itself, you store keys, you want them to be encrypted. As for applications being fully verified, it's important since its goal is to prevent rogue applications posing as another and gaining access to its keystore. One possibility mentioned by Michael is to run a checksum over the running application which can then be queried.
Lots of interesting stuff in there, a big thanks to Michael for taking the time, I hope you enjoyed reading, I did.
Update: Michael just committed to Haiku's source some changes which include a workaround improving the autojoin handling problem mentioned above.
