Can WIFI on motherboard (B550) be really 100% safely and securely disabled...?

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Moratorium

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Hello im looking to buy a motherboard for my 5950x. Ill will go probably with B550 chipset, probably with:

Asus TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WIFI II 90MB19U0-M0EAY0

This one has WIFI integrated on the motherboard itself... I have never had it (or used WIFI on PC really), i have some wifi router i used to plug in and used few times like years ago. My question is simple: If i do NOT want to use the WIFI, is there a SAFE and SECURE and 100% "bulletproof" way to disable it? In order to not have my PC "hacked" by someone (physically close) to my PC (like neighbours in sorrounding flats etc.)...? Im a bit worried to have a wifi integrated into the mother, since then i cannot simply "plug it out" and have 100% peace knowing that when its not plugged in (like my old wifi router) there is simply no (NO) way anyone can acces ("hack") into my PC via wifi since you know... the cable is not connected :)...

If I:
1) Do NOT PLUG the antenna to the back of the motherboard
2) Disable WIFI in BIOS of the motherboard
3) Disable WIFI in Windows...

Should these steps be enough and 100% bulletproof and safe/Secure and guarantee that nobody can touch my PC via wifi even if he was the best hacker in the world...? Correct or not...?

(a side question: Is it enough to simply NOT plug in the antenna to the back of the motherboard/PC...? can wifi function even without antenna? (even on a super short distance)...?)

Thank you
 
One of my boards with 'built in wifi' is really just a weird slot with a wifi/bluetooth card factory installed; I could take that out and then wifi is really gone. Might be under the i/o port heat shield thing though.

Another board has wifi but I'm pretty sure I didn't install the antennas because I don't plan to use wifi. It can still see my network, although I'm sure the speeds are terrible.
 
Are you in close proximity with others? WiFi can work without the antenna because the metal connector can work as an antenna. The antenna is basically a conductor wire. If you disable the wifi adapter and disconnect the antenna, the chances someone is getting into your machine via wifi are very slim. I can't see how can someone get really close to your machine from outside your house. The chances they are hacking you via your wired internet connection are higher I would say. It is not about being a good hacker, it is about getting a good signal.
 
All of the computers that I have with wifi allow me to disable the wifi either at the OS level or at the BIOS level. When it's off, it's off.
 
toast0 said:
One of my boards with 'built in wifi' is really just a weird slot with a wifi/bluetooth card factory installed; I could take that out and then wifi is really gone. Might be under the i/o port heat shield thing though.

Another board has wifi but I'm pretty sure I didn't install the antennas because I don't plan to use wifi. It can still see my network, although I'm sure the speeds are terrible.
Click to expand...

hi so even without antenna there IS some communication out of the PC (you can see the network), thats interesting... somebody somewhere else said that if the antenna is not installed you cannot use the wifi AT ALL... i found that hard to believe...
 
sram said:
Are you in close proximity with others? WiFi can work without the antenna because the metal connector can work as an antenna. The antenna is basically a conductor wire. If you disable the wifi adapter and disconnect the antenna, the chances someone is getting into your machine via wifi are very slim. I can't see how can someone get really close to your machine from outside your house. The chances they are hacking you via your wired internet connection are higher I would say. It is not about being a good hacker, it is about getting a good signal.
Click to expand...
thanks
 
Moratorium said:
hi so even without antenna there IS some communication out of the PC (you can see the network), thats interesting... somebody somewhere else said that if the antenna is not installed you cannot use the wifi AT ALL... i found that hard to believe...
Click to expand...
yes but since you are disabling it dont worry about it.
 
toast0 said:
One of my boards with 'built in wifi' is really just a weird slot with a wifi/bluetooth card factory installed; I could take that out and then wifi is really gone. Might be under the i/o port heat shield thing though.

Another board has wifi but I'm pretty sure I didn't install the antennas because I don't plan to use wifi. It can still see my network, although I'm sure the speeds are terrible.
Click to expand...
Yeah, one of mine is the same, forget if it's asus or asrock though. Under the metal box where the antennas connect, there's a card which is in a slot on the board. The screw securing the box was really hard to get to, and it may be soldered on your board instead, so maybe not worth the trouble.
 
Moratorium said:
hi so even without antenna there IS some communication out of the PC (you can see the network), thats interesting... somebody somewhere else said that if the antenna is not installed you cannot use the wifi AT ALL... i found that hard to believe...
Click to expand...
Well, it might not be usable, I didn't try to connect, but it did see the beacons.
 
My MB has an actual WiFi card installed. I just removed the card itself.
 
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