GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 627897
Connects to wired and wireless connections at the same time
Last modified: 2010-10-14 04:18:28 UTC
When starting nm-applet (eg, when a gnome session begins) nm-applet connects to both wired and wireless networks. This means that I have to unlock the keyring if the wireless network is encrypted, which should not be necessary. Both connections are active, but the wired one is the default: % ip route 192.168.0.0/16 dev eth0 proto kernel scope link src 192.168.0.100 metric 1 192.168.0.0/16 dev wlan0 proto kernel scope link src 192.168.0.103 metric 2 default via 192.168.0.1 dev eth0 proto static
This is expected and desirable behavior (and was a major feature of NM 0.7 over 0.6) as it reduces latency and preserves some connections when switching between wired and wifi. You'd have to unlock your keyring anyway when switching to wifi; but these days you don't need to unlock your keyring at all. Since about early 2009, gnome-keyring has a "login" keyring (which is the default one) that is unlocked when you log into your desktop, and thus you should never see the keyring unlock dialog in practice. If you do, then we should investigate why the keyring is not being unlocked when you log in. Alternatively, you can 'rfkill' your wifi until you need it, and then you won't be asked for the keyring unlock until you re-enable the wifi.
nm-applet is opening the keyring "default", not "login" (is that a separate bug?). Anyway, I don't see why connecting to wired and wireless networks simultaneously will reduce latency. If I have a cable plugged in, presumably it is because I want to use it.