We will be going on a family vacation next month and our room does not have internet access. There is a common area in the complex that provides wireless access. Is this safe to use without worrying about people hacking into my computer? Are there certain sites I should not access while on that network such as banking sites? Thanks for the help.
A question about wireless internet in public places
- Thread starter njsarge
- Start date
OK... Being a Computer Engineer and having some experience in white hatting, You SHOULD and i stress SHOULD Be ok if you have a firewall, and turn it WAY up. use caution with banking sites, and if your computer starts to do things without you telling it to, kill the wireless. mainly, i would look for a business room, as they may have one and it Should have Hard Line access. Thats My advice. MAke sure you have you're firewall turned up is the main point. it should give a warning if someone is trying to hack you
Dex
Dex
I too am a computer engineer - my specialty is in embedded networking and security.
Banking online is safe since your session is protected at the socket layer. People snooping on the wireless will be able to see your link layer, transport layer, and network layer headers, but the actual traffic between you and your bank is encrypted above this and not available. You need to be more worried about people looking over your shoulder than snooping the public wireless link.
Secure Socket Layer (it's what puts the s in the https:// connection between you and your bank) protects this type of traffic from eavesdropping. If you're really interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Https
Banking online is safe since your session is protected at the socket layer. People snooping on the wireless will be able to see your link layer, transport layer, and network layer headers, but the actual traffic between you and your bank is encrypted above this and not available. You need to be more worried about people looking over your shoulder than snooping the public wireless link.
Secure Socket Layer (it's what puts the s in the https:// connection between you and your bank) protects this type of traffic from eavesdropping. If you're really interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Https
A related question --
We've had Norton virus protection / security on our home computer for some time and it's coming up for renewal. My son claims there's no need for Norton or anything else. I think there should be some protection against hackers getting into my stuff. Any suggestions?
We've had Norton virus protection / security on our home computer for some time and it's coming up for renewal. My son claims there's no need for Norton or anything else. I think there should be some protection against hackers getting into my stuff. Any suggestions?
Saully-
I use the free version of AVG's anti-virus at home and I've been fine for years. I recommend having your own router with a firewall between any of your computers and your cable/DSL modem (assuming you have one of those). With those two things you should be good to go.
I use the free version of AVG's anti-virus at home and I've been fine for years. I recommend having your own router with a firewall between any of your computers and your cable/DSL modem (assuming you have one of those). With those two things you should be good to go.
Thanks, Tim. We have a router for the laptops but the desktop connects straight to the cable. What would go inbetween?
How so? The only way to compromise data is on the endpoints. An attacker would have to have access to a socket on one side of the secured session.
Not all the time. I was once told of/ instructed on a way to break mid-stream. It happened a couple of times in the early 2000's. I dont remember the exact particulars. It is a relativley secure Layer, But its the same as trying to build an "impenetrable wall" There is always something that will go through it. Ill try and find what i was instructed on. I know i pulled it off once, However it was only on a relatively unsecure website. Let me look when i get done with work.
codemachine
Cigar n00b
Hotel Wireless is also vulnerable to Man In The Middle attacks if you use whatever DNS entries it passes on to you. When I travel I connect to my company VPN and surf or check mail through that. It uses a hardcoded IP and the DNS entries are provided by the VPN. If you're paranoid enough (like I am) you could setup your own VPN server at home if you have a static IP.