Barbara Feldman: Wireless Security

Wireless Security

A couple of times a year, I attend an Internet entrepreneurs conference hosted by a small group I belong to. (Don't ask me about it ... I can't say anything about this cabal.) But anyway, I digress.

During the last conference (or was it the one before?) one of the guys got up to speak, and projected on the overhead screen a series of usernames and passwords. Slowly everyone in the room turned white. Nearly all of us recognized at least one set of these credentials. They were passwords to our email accounts, our web servers, etc, etc.

How did he do it? Well, we all were connected to the Internet via a wireless connection provided by the hotel (much like those coffee shop wi-fi hotspots.) And EVERYTHING you send over these insecure connections is vunerable and public.

Until then, I figured that only a few people knew how to read the data stream flying around these wi-fi connections, but apparently it's pretty easy to do.

To help you (and me) secure our important data, my buddy, well-known computer author Dave Taylor, has written a guide about how to lock down your computer and private data called Wireless Security and Privacy Guide.

Don't spend another afternoon surfing/emailing/working in your favorite latte hotspot until you read it.