Working Wireless is Risky, Know How to Stay Safe

My husband and I are often on the road traveling here and there, and when we leave each of us has a laptop that comes along with us. Though we both have a laptop, we each use them for entirely different reasons. Personally, I like to do admin things like typing up notes, writing down any ideas that come to me, or writing up blog posts and articles like this one. For him, he needs to get his internet fix. Of course I love to get online too, but I make it a point not to do so while on the road. Why, you might wonder?

The biggest reason - security. Many people I know, including my dear spouse, would not hesitate to whip out their laptops whenever they can get online. They particularly love free wireless offerings at hotels, airports, restaurants and coffee houses. I cringe, and hang on tighter to my laptop, disable all network access and say a little prayer for my friends.

If you don't already know, public wireless networks are not always secure. There are people who set up fake wireless networks with the intention of luring people to get on the Internet through them. These illegal wireless networks are called evil twins because they often are operating in the same place as a proper wireless service that is already in operation. This confuses some users because they think the network is part of the legitimate service.

Once you get online through an evil twin's network, the operator will try to access your computer. In most cases they succeed. While in your computer, they'll attempt to look for sensitive data. Anything they can use or make money from including your business documents.

A rogue wireless operator can even secretly install software on your laptop that is there to spy on you as you go about your business on the internet. The program just sits and waits until you go to sites where you need to login and then reports your information back where it can be used to access any number of sites. They often will only need you to go to one site and enter your information and then can access any number of sites because so many people use the same username and passwords for multiple sites. This type of network is easy to set up and so portable it could even be carried in a backpack. Think about this: that nice lady (or man) who's sitting next to you at the airport just might have a network set up to steal your information. Scary, isn't it?

Maybe you're thinking you'll be OK since you have firewalls and and other security settings installed on your laptop. Well, the problem with firewalls, is this. Firewall security is most often set to a high setting for when you are surfing the net but the evil twin will be on the network you are on so you'll need to adjust settings to account for that. Security settings for in-network traffic is usually quite relaxed, allowing anyone on the same network to enter and leave as they please.

Think of a network as a home and each bedroom in the home is a computer. When you allow someone into your home, it is likely they will have access into each and every room. If you locked one of those rooms, it could stop them, depending on what you use and the quality of the room's doors and locks. So the best prevention is to not let people in the house.

You really are safest staying off the internet altogether, but if you must go online make sure you turn up your in-network security settings. Be safe by not opening any emails you are not positive about, and don't log into sites containing sensitive information. There is a commercial I've seen on TV that shows a couple sitting at a bar on the beach paying their bills. This is sending the wrong message so please don't do what they did! If you absolutely must check your email while you're away, try using your cell phone instead.

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