I was wondering if hackers can steal your info easier if you are on an unsecured wireless network ANybody know ? Thanks
Yes, it is easier. Leaveing your wireless lan open leaves you liable for all sorts of potential crap. Some assh0le parks out front and uses your connection to download kiddy porn and you get the FBI knocking. Just use the basic security. There are SO MANY open lans that the bad people will hardly ever bother with the secured ones. If you want help shoot me a PM and we'll get it set up. It's pretty easy.
are you talking about having an open wireless lan in your home/office like oppie20 is discussing? are you talking about using insecure wifi hotspots when you're out and about? as a general rule, don't submit anything via a web browser that you think is a security risk unless you can verify that the page is secure (the little lock icon or whatnot). if that's there, your relatively well-protected no matter what your transport mechanism is - wired, wireless, or whatever. remember, email is almost always insecure (you have to go through serious lengths to make email secure - a hugely unfortunate fact). don't send anything ever through email (EVER!) that is a potential ID threat. also keep in mind that anything you do on your web browser at home on a wired network is still somewhat open for monitoring (unless the page is secure). i can see all sorts of my neighbors computers off my cable modem connection at home - and i could in theory monitor some or all of their traffic if i so desired (i do not and have never done such - for sake of the feds monitoring this stuff). doody.
It's amazing. In a large medical building, where HIPAA requires extreme security for patient records, out of 35+ networks, only 3 are secure. Not good. Not hard to secure at reasonable level, but if really paranoid, can go multi layer for more. Keep personal info off HD, and no cred card/dl/etc. Try to dump/shred remnants of browsing, etc. too. I'm not great at this stuff, so take help from guys who can explain it better, but do it Hubster.
This is what I am concerned w as I have a secure connection at home. Looks like I'll just stay off line while I am out What about networks @ Starbucks or JetBlue ? Are those safe ?
are you concerned with the data ON your computer or are you concered with the data you're transmitting and receiving over the internet? doody.
As long as you don't have personal info STORED on your computer, such as a list of credit cards, account numbers, etc. AND as long as you don't do any purchasing on an unsecure site, you are fine. Use Firefox, and just do your normal surfing, and you are fine. Some places 'may' be secure to do transactions, but I'm paranoid, I don't trust them, I don't need the possible aggravation. If you are a hacker, and you want to hack somebody, where is the easiest place ? The parking lot of your local cafe', coffe shop or bookstore, easy pickens'.
I was wondering about info for sites like Fchat or AOL, can a hacker get your card # since we r billed by these sites? I never check my bank info or buy anything when I am not on a secure server but what about Paypal ? Is that a big no no ? Thanks
it's absolutely possible. most credit card identity theft happens not from thieves hacking into individual's computers/systems, but from thieves hacking into big site servers where they can get large volumes of ccard info all at once. they're only as secure as the site owner makes them. the problems with paypal have a lot more to do with their policies about how they can restrict your access to your money, and their policies about dipping into your bank accounts. i would assume that the paypal security setup is top-notch, world-class stuff and that hackers are making attempts on it regularly (unlike fchat, which i doubt hackers bother with often, if at all - htere's just not enough users). doody.
