Free wireless, hackers, and protecting your communications with encryption
Question:
Today on Fox News web site was an article about vulnerability to hackers of many free wi-fi internet systems that put travelers on vacation at risk when they use their computer on these systems. Since I’ll be doing that to log in to my home computer, I’m wondering if there are any security measures I can implement when using my laptop on vacation when logging in to my office from hotels, etc.?
Answer:
I assume this is the article you’re referencing.
If so, here are my comments:
That was an article clearly written by a person with no technical understanding of what they were writing about. That’s frustrating, because it causes undue paranoia without giving an explanation of the “crime”, and no tips for resolution, apart from the vague “trust no one” bits.
I’m trying to parse the true meaning of the technical problem. Yes, hackers can hijack a legit connection and trick you into using theirs. However, if your PC is not sharing folders, and if the sites you visit are encrypted, you’re probably fine.
The thing the article doesn’t mention is that people can just as easily “sniff” the traffic of wireless users on legitimate networks! If I go to a coffee shop like Panera Bread, and start sniffing (yes, that’s the technical term), I can see where everyone else is visiting online. In some instances, I can see passwords. But I can only see data that’s passed between a user and an unencrypted website.
Encrypted websites are the ones used to transfer sensitive information (credit card, SS numbers, etc). In the old days (the early 2000’s), you would sometimes encounter places that would take credit card numbers in an unencrypted form. I haven’t seen that method used in a long time.
The short answer: If you’re working online at a public location, make sure the websites you visit are encrypted. Those are the communications that electronic eavesdroppers can’t read. To verify if the sites you’re visiting are encrypted, here’s an article I wrote about that a while ago.
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