http://www.gazetteextra.com/wireless_dangers092406.asp
Wireless: Cheap, easy and potentially dangerous
(Published Sunday, September 24, 2006)
By Frank Schultz
Gazette Staff
Setting up a wireless computer network is easy. It eliminates messy
cables. It frees the user to sit anywhere in the house and use the
computer.
And it's also gotten cheaper in recent years, so home users are adopting
it in droves.
The technical term is wireless local area network, often abbreviated as
WLAN. Setting up a WLAN is as easy as unpacking a small piece of hardware
called a router and plugging it into a computer.
Suddenly, the router is broadcasting a signal that can be picked up by
any computer within 100 to 200 feet, sometimes farther, depending on the
strength of signal and type of building.
But even though the network is working, the security measures-which come
packaged in the router-have to be set up.
"While any system is always vulnerable to some extent, the existing
protection methods that come bundled with (the router) are more than
adequate for protecting the average user," said Seapahn Megerian, a
computer engineering professor at UW-Madison.
"Most people, they simply plug them in, don't do any of the security
stuff, and if you're not watching what the router's doing, you're not
going to know if someone drives by your house and accesses the
Internet," Brad Neumann of S.E. Computers in Janesville.
"We all have the tendency to skip the instruction manual," said
Ted Krapf, branch manager for Milwaukee PC in Janesville. "If you
don't protect your router, your neighbors could use your Internet-or
worse," Krapf said.
Without protection, a snoop could eavesdrop on your e-mails and see
everything you see while you're on the Internet, Megerian said.
More difficult for a snoop would be to get your credit card number.
"In terms of more critical Web sites such as online banking,
shopping, or other sites that may contain sensitive personal information,
the good news is that they are often encrypted," Megerian
said.
"An encrypted communication will not make sense to the eavesdropper
unless that person is able to break the encryption-usually very hard to
do," Megerian said. "But there are a number of other ways a
malicious wardriver can get access to your information or try to figure
out certain things about you."
One way is to plant a virus that will record all the keystrokes you make
and e-mail that information to the hacker, Krapf said.
That's why it's important to have anti-virus software and keep it up to
date, Krapf said.
Krapf said he hasn't heard of any local thefts of personal information by
war drivers. The worst he has seen is someone changing computer settings
or using the Internet without paying for it.
The potential for real damage remains, however, and as technology
changes, users need to pay attention and keep their software updated.
"You've got to stay educated, unfortunately," Krapf said.
"As if we didn't have enough to worry about already."
We Hunt Spies, We Stop Espionage, We Kill
Bugs, and We Plug Leaks.
James M. Atkinson, President and Sr. Engineer
Granite Island Group
127 Eastern Avenue #291
Gloucester, MA 01930-8008
Phone: (978) 546-3803
Fax: (978) 546-9467
Web:
http://www.tscm.com/
E-Mail:
jm..._at_tscm.com
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:25 CST