InternetHow to Prevent a Coffee Shop Wi-Fi Attack

Logging on using your mobile device allows hackers to steal your password unless you take basic precautions.

The world just got a bit riskier for us “road warriors.” You see, there’s this perfect storm of risks lined up to make our lives a little more dangerous. Here’s why, and here’s what we can do to fight back. In the last couple years, a new breed of mobile user has sprung up. Thanks in large part to the iPhone (and the iPhone-wannabees), the world now has a lot more mobile devices hungry for a live (and free) Wi-Fi connection. Sure, we’ve been using Wi-Fi for years, but at least for many of us, what was once the casual and even occasional laptop login has become a more convenient and far more frequent quick check for email, stock reports, headlines, etc. We’re using our hyper-mobile devices all the time now. Standing in line at the coffee shop, we quickly fire up our pocket-sized devices to see what’s going on in the world. Now, here’s where the risk storm comes in. When you point your Wi-Fi interface at a local wireless access point (WAP), you’re implicitly trusting it. Say, for example, you’re in your favorite coffee shop and turn on your mobile device and see there’s a Wi-Fi net present—say, something like “Acme-wireless.” You see it’s not using WEP, so you blindly and courageously take the leap of faith and connect to it. Once on the wireless, you bring up your browser and try to connect to a Web site. Looks fine, so you login to that web site, perhaps providing your login... [ Read more on www.internetnews.com ]

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