Many Internet users are still not aware of the data theft and eavesdropping that occur in Wi-Fi spots across the world, and even the stalking factor that comes with this. Oftentimes it’s hard enough to get a good, fast connection at your favorite cafe or hotel room, or even your own home and business, and just that feat alone leaves most users satisfied that they have achieved the most important task at hand. But it’s not.
Even when you are in the safety of your own home, and have setup that router which enables you to walk around your house freely with your laptop, you may have missed the most important step of all. Make it a secure Wi-Fi connection using encryption (WPA/WPA2) with a password that you change on a regular basis. Otherwise, you might be subject to needful neighbors using your connection which slows down your speed, and most importantly of all, you might be subject to criminal hackers delving into your personal and financial life.
How many times have we turned on our laptops, even in our own home, and have seen several Wi-Fi connections available, several of which clearly do not require a password? This is very common in apartment complexes, residential neighborhoods, business parks, and downtown areas. How many times have we logged on to one of these unsafe connections (which are labeled as "unsecured wireless networks" by your laptop software) just because we need to get on the Internet? Did you know that hackers go to great lengths to deploy unsafe connections, as bait, to get you to log on in good faith, so they can track what you are doing, fish out key information you are accessing, and in some cases, even have full silent access to your hard drive while you are checking sports scores.
These criminal hackers take advantage of the alarming situation that the majority of Internet users has little or no understanding of this dilemma. This is changing slowly, but unfortunately, the growth rate of Internet users still outpaces the Internet safety education rate of these very users. As companies like Google and others are racing forward to propel even more of your computer experiences over the very Internet, the Internet safety education efforts are notably not keeping up yet. If Google and others succeed, virtually all of your documents you used to keep on your computer will be stored on their servers. This makes for an incredibly convenient situation for you, especially as you are able to access your documents and personal information from other computers, instead of your own computer. This is what the phrase “Cloud Computing” means. Your data and documents are in a cloud (someone else’s server) and not on your own computer.
As more and more gastronomical complexes are realizing the magnetic relation between Internet users and their instant-reflex willingness to buy drinks and/or food in order to have that Internet connection, many of these very venues have not yet followed the steps to create a safer experience for their customers, not even for their own internal computers.
Telecommunication companies throughout the world like AT&T, Swisscom, and Telefonica are trying to convince users to just use their 3G service (having Internet if you have a cell-phone signal) that can be installed in many current cell phones, hand-held devices, tablet computers, and laptops. Are these companies indeed staying on top of your security and privacy needs? This is an evolving topic with news and developments on a quarterly basis.
Personal-information risk abounds in other ways, as seen with Internet providers like AOL (formerly America Online), and also with big retail, hospitality, and banking giants like Barnes & Noble, Raddison Hotels, Visa, Citibank, and American Express who have all suffered significant hack attacks of credit card and/or other personal data. Your data has been placed on Internet clouds, and it is just at the same risk by employees of one of previously mentioned firms and hack attacks against these companies, as it is by you not conducting yourself properly on a Wi-Fi connection. It is also well known by industry-insiders that the ability to eavesdrop exists, whether through legal court orders or illegal motives, on your Internet sessions by the very telecommunication, cable companies, and other companies that provide the signal. Also very noteworthy are the famous Internet Cafes that have numerous terminals set up so you can come off the street and just buy some Internet time. These Internet Cafes across the world are largely unregulated or not checked enough by regulators, as regards to any practices of snooping on their customer Internet sessions, whether by management or renegade employees.
With all of this in mind, one should always assume that anything they do on the Internet could be looked at, eventually. But back to the theme of this article.
If your company, organization, or government entity is deploying Wi-Fi as a service to your user base, you can take several important steps to help thwart of Internet crime against your users and even your own servers. Education and keeping up with industry developments and news, is the most important. Making clear ideas and instructions to your users and internal staff is one of the first steps. Communicate with your Internet provider, who will be supplying you with the very Internet signal you will be “re-selling” (or giving) to your user base. Express your concerns to your Internet provider about privacy and security for your user base, and then document and follow their advice, and make the Wi-Fi connection as secure as possible for your internal computers, and your user base. Provide reminders to your user base of safe surfing practices while they are “visiting”.
As an Internet user who encountering Wi-Fi connections, there are some important things you can do to help protect you and your data in this fast changing Internet landscape.
In principle, when encountering a no-password-needed Internet connection at any given venue, try to avoid using that connection if you can. Also ask the venue management when they are planning to make it a more secure connection.
Whether a secure Wi-Fi connection or not, try to avoid accessing, creating, or transmitting sensitive data when you are at Wi-Fi point elsewhere than your own secure and “trusted” network in your home or business. This includes even the ever popular “chat” conversations that you have with others, over Skype, MSN, etc. If it is basic chat conversation has no sensitive information being discussed, then really who cares. If you are looking at news, sports scores, airline flight times, etc, there is nothing a criminal hacker or stalker can do much here, except possibly know your next physical moves. The most important risks start when you have to enter a user name and a password to services like some email services, financial services, company servers, etc., or worse, if your user name and password are already stored in your browser, so you are already logged in. If these services have done things properly, they have setup their own secure access URL’s, which can be indicated by an “https” in the URL and a small icon in the bottom right hand corner of your browser (I.E. Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, etc). If this little locks appears when you are about to enter your user name and password, the risks drop tremendously, but they don’t disappear. It should be noted, at the date of this writing, that many less common email services do not even offer secure logins. These may be email services like the one your employer may have provided to you. On the other hand, Gmail and Yahoo have already taken great steps in this arena. But does it apply to you? Again, look for the small graphic at the bottom right hand corner of your browser, that looks like a lock, before you type in that user name and password.
In the end, the best hackers get whatever they want, no matter what security is in place, but it may be unlikely the best hackers are eavesdropping your data. They are likely more interested in much bigger fish. Just remember, you are still a fish.
Another precaution you should take is to have installed the latest Internet security software that companies like Norton, MacAfee, and others provide. Try to avoid using free versions. Shell out the $50 USD a year for the extra protection the paid versions provide. It’s a bargain compared to what could happen otherwise. These products put up important shields while you are online, often advising you live when another another computer is trying to intrude yours.
Just because you arrived to your favorite hotel, cafe, or airport, and cannot access their Wi-Fi system without a user name and password, this does not mean that criminal hackers have not obtained the same information to login, and use special software to start eavesdropping. These days, criminal hackers are known to sit in airports for hours at a time, appearing to be a traveler, but really eavesdropping on hundred’s of people surfing the web as they wait for their connecting flights.
Bottom line: Try to refrain from using sensitive data when you are not at your own home or business (assuming you know those connections are “safe”).
You can follow newsworthy events regarding these topics by going to Google News, and searching on phrases like “wi-fi secure".
Another place to research this topic is www.getsafeonline.com
Written by Sean Maddox / The Mendoza Sun
