The vulnerability of Wi-Fi networks has been much on my mind lately. I spend a lot of time in internet cafes, pouring a lot of swill down my gullet, and I usually have this nagging feeling that I'm not being smart securitywise, or I get paranoid my anti-virus isn't up to date.
The mind races: Am I really connecting to a safe network? What about AdAware and SpyBot? How often do I need to run those? And what about all these pop-up messages from Microsoft, telling me my system needs updating? I really need to get my head around what the story is on all those pop-ups. Do I really need to switch to decaf? Well, that's for another blog.
On the wireless security front, a couple of my colleagues at Jupitermedia have done great work lately easing my over-caffeinated mind. If you have any of the same worries, check out these two articles.
In, How to Prevent a Coffee Shop Wi-Fi Attack, Kenneth van Wyk: of Internetnews.com shows how merely logging on using your mobile device allows hackers to steal your password unless you take basic precautions.
In the second article, How to Prevent Parking Lot Attacks, Jim Geier of Wi-Fi Planet makes many good points, including this one: One approach to reducing the risk of "parking lot" attacks on your WLAN is to reduce exposure by using shielding products, such as specialized paint, to attenuate RF signals.
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