[LINK] Wi-Fi hotspot .. access accounts via VPN or SSL

Rick Welykochy rick at praxis.com.au
Thu Aug 2 08:19:59 AEST 2007


stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:

> Quoted: "never use a Wi-Fi hotspot unless you are using VPN (virtual 
> private networking) or SSL (secure sockets layer) to access accounts"
[SNIP]
> <http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/08/01/Web-apps-over-Wi-Fi-put-data-at-
> risk_1.html?source=NLC-TB&cgd=2007-08-01>
[SNIP]
> It's not just those sites but any rich Web applications that exchange 
> account information with users, including blogging sites such as 
> Blogspot .. wrote Errata CEO (etal) in a paper. 

Whew! I was worried there for a second. I thought I was at risk
using email and non-rich Web apps, but I feel better now.

NOT! "Rich Web apps" have nothing to do with this problem.

ANY plain text Internet protocol shoveled through non-encrypted WiFi
or even non-WiFi connections are at risk of being snooped.


> There is a remedy, however. "The consequence of this is that users should 
> never use a Wi-Fi hotspot unless they are using VPN (virtual private 
> networking) or SSL (secure sockets layer) to access their accounts," they 
> wrote. 

I'm sure that is reassuring to the computer illiterati.

<http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/04/04pogue-email/>
has a reasonably comprehensible discussion of the problem and the
talkback section offers some Real World Solutions (TM).

Google for "never use a Wi-Fi hotspot unless you are using VPN"
for more help on this.


cheers
rickw


-- 
_________________________________
Rick Welykochy || Praxis Services

Traditionally, most of Australia's imports come from overseas.
      -- Keppel Enderbery



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