OT: WiFi ? for dummies(me)....

[Brian C.]

OK, I'm at a wonderful Quality Inn, in the vacation spot of Dumfries, VA and will be here for the next two weeks for a training class. Yes, I know.....second prize was three weeks! ;) They do have free high speed wireless internet access....this Internet thing is really great! Thanks again Al!

Anyway, me being the dummy that I am, I've only been given a crash course on WiFi but I've managed to get it going in 2 airports and now here. So my first question is:

Should I use this network to check my e-mail, do my banking, pay bills, etc.....just like I do at home? "'I'm not a smart man Jenny..." but it seems to me that anyplace that I would need to access with a password or account number of mine, I should avoid here due to a non-secure connection....right?? And if that's the case, is there a way for me to "become" a secure access user? Two weeks away from home and the bank and e-mail might be tough to take, but at least I still have YOU GUYS!!!! Awwwwwwww!
:D


Brian C.
Hey!...we got a Waffle House AND a Cracker Barrel next door!!!
:p

[Jay 535i]

OK, I'm at a wonderful Quality Inn, in the vacation spot of Dumfries, VA and will be here for the next two weeks for a training class. Yes, I know.....second prize was three weeks! ;) They do have free high speed wireless internet access....this Internet thing is really great! Thanks again Al!

Anyway, me being the dummy that I am, I've only been given a crash course on WiFi but I've managed to get it going in 2 airports and now here. So my first question is:

Should I use this network to check my e-mail, do my banking, pay bills, etc.....just like I do at home? "'I'm not a smart man Jenny..." but it seems to me that anyplace that I would need to access with a password or account number of mine, I should avoid here due to a non-secure connection....right?? And if that's the case, is there a way for me to "become" a secure access user? Two weeks away from home and the bank and e-mail might be tough to take, but at least I still have YOU GUYS!!!! Awwwwwwww!
:D


Brian C.
Hey!...we got a Waffle House AND a Cracker Barrel next door!!!
:p

Your connection is not secure. Even though your bank details get encrypted, it's not impossible for people to snag your info out of the air and decrypt it. Highly unlikely, but not impossible.

Being conencted wirelessly also makes you vulnerable to hacking. Again, the odds are tiny that this would happen to you, but it is happening to somebody right now, and could happen to you.

The risk is akin to having someone with binoculars snag your ATM pin, copy your card and empty your account. It's a very rare thing, but it happens.

[Brian C.]

The risk is akin to having someone with binoculars snag your ATM pin, copy your card and empty your account. It's a very rare thing, but it happens.


I was thinking that it was sorta like an open connection that anyone on the same network could just open and see what I was typing. So it's more like someone has to have nefarious intent, and be able to swipe the signal out of the air with some sort of device then?

I still don't like those odds when it comes to my bank acount, etc, but as far as my work e-mail, then maybe I'll chance it. Anything I can do to improve my security, here in a motel room?


Brian C.

[Jay 535i]

I was thinking that it was sorta like an open connection that anyone on the same network could just open and see what I was typing. So it's more like someone has to have nefarious intent, and be able to swipe the signal out of the air with some sort of device then?

I still don't like those odds when it comes to my bank acount, etc, but as far as my work e-mail, then maybe I'll chance it. Anything I can do to improve my security, here in a motel room?

Yes, there would have to be serious intent to snag encrypted data. Your bank's website is almost certainly secured against casual eavesdroppers. Somewhere in your browser there should be some sort of icon to indicate a secure (i.e. data-encrypting) connection. Unless your email and instant messenger are specialty products, they won't be secure. But then, email never is. Further, you have to wonder what the odds are of there just happening to be a guy within 100 yards who feels like reading your letters home.

A firewall could protect you against hacking, but nothing's foolproof. Still, anything you transmit travels through the air and someone with intent, equipment and skill can steal it.

Much like local law enforcement, 100% security is an impossibility. The odds of getting mugged are small, but not zero.

[Brian C.]

Thanks for the info. I'm aware that all sorts of no-goodniks are out there trying to steal something, but I appreciate the heads-up.

Brian C.

[Jay 535i]

Thanks for the info. I'm aware that all sorts of no-goodniks are out there trying to steal something, but I appreciate the heads-up.

Brian C.

FWIW, I'm not trying to discourage you from using your computer as per usual. I would.

[Brian C.]

And the part about the bad guys needing to be 100 yds from me made a lot of sense. Thanks again.


Brian C.

[uscharalph]

OK, I'm at a wonderful Quality Inn, in the vacation spot of Dumfries, VA and will be here for the next two weeks for a training class. Yes, I know.....second prize was three weeks! ;) They do have free high speed wireless internet access....this Internet thing is really great! Thanks again Al!

Anyway, me being the dummy that I am, I've only been given a crash course on WiFi but I've managed to get it going in 2 airports and now here. So my first question is:

Should I use this network to check my e-mail, do my banking, pay bills, etc.....just like I do at home? "'I'm not a smart man Jenny..." but it seems to me that anyplace that I would need to access with a password or account number of mine, I should avoid here due to a non-secure connection....right?? And if that's the case, is there a way for me to "become" a secure access user? Two weeks away from home and the bank and e-mail might be tough to take, but at least I still have YOU GUYS!!!! Awwwwwwww!
:D


Brian C.
Hey!...we got a Waffle House AND a Cracker Barrel next door!!!
:p
How safe are we at anytime? I'd use the connection, but wouldn't transmit any banking type transactions that weren't totally necessary.

[granit_silber]

OK, I'm at a wonderful Quality Inn, in the vacation spot of Dumfries, VA and will be here for the next two weeks for a training class. Yes, I know.....second prize was three weeks! ;) They do have free high speed wireless internet access....this Internet thing is really great! Thanks again Al!

Anyway, me being the dummy that I am, I've only been given a crash course on WiFi but I've managed to get it going in 2 airports and now here. So my first question is:

Should I use this network to check my e-mail, do my banking, pay bills, etc.....just like I do at home? "'I'm not a smart man Jenny..." but it seems to me that anyplace that I would need to access with a password or account number of mine, I should avoid here due to a non-secure connection....right?? And if that's the case, is there a way for me to "become" a secure access user? Two weeks away from home and the bank and e-mail might be tough to take, but at least I still have YOU GUYS!!!! Awwwwwwww!
:D


Brian C.
Hey!...we got a Waffle House AND a Cracker Barrel next door!!!
:p

I've had an open WiFi network in my house for two years (not totally smart I know) and haven't had any problems with it. We do all our banking, e-mailing, etc... over the network. I don't know how your bank does things, but mine doesn't have pertinent info that could be stolen listed when I do online banking stuff. I type in my username and passcode, but my account numbers are hidden (like a VISA receipt) with only the last 4 numbers visible.
In order for someone to gain access to my account they would have to be eavesdropping at the exact nanosecond that I transmitted my user info. Unlikey, but possible.
The only other thing is that every motel/hotel I've stayed in with internet access has had some sort of security. Whether it's an access code or special access webpage. They know who's on the network and when. But you're right to be cautious, like jaylebo said you can't be 100%.

[emw525E34]

Doing banking transactions via ANY wireless connection is risky. Do that over your DSL link, or office network. Thats the safest!.

The Internet is a very dangerous place as many found out. Some guy from XP64bit forum just recently said that just after 2 hours on the Net with a newly build system, he saw some keygrabbing spyware trying to swipe his online gaming account!.
Keep your spyware and your anti-virus software current. Spywares are the current "most dangerous" threats on the Net.

So please be alert of any strange behavior on your PC or its router etc.

[ryan roopnarine]

this crap with the spyware needs to stop NOW! fad, fad, go away!
i made one, ONE download of a clean program by ftp, and i got hit with soooo many malicious types of spyware and malware (no, i don't download or click on popups). my apartment has a pretty substantial firewall, and i was running an updated copy of f-prot antivirus at the time. now, the crap will try to start, and f-prot will catch it and tell me before it does, but, of course, no matter how many times i run adaware and the AV program in safe mode (&c. &c), something remains. im just hoping it didn't snag any of my bank information in the mean time. Im thinking that i need to clear my schedule tonight and format the b0xen.

[Brian C.]

....DSL at your job at....ah....ummm, I forget, where do you work again???



Brian C.
:D

[Bill R.]

.;)
....DSL at your job at....ah....ummm, I forget, where do you work again???



Brian C.
:D

[ryan roopnarine]

alls im sayin is that there are more innocuous/undetectable/surprising ways to steal info, as emw said. if they have the infrastructure to support wireless internet, they have to have a wired ethernet port some place in the hotel, do your banking there, and don't worry all that much about the email. i went to school to see wesley clark (i always go to see anyone they have), but before that i spent 2 hours looking for drivers, im going to spend another hour at least looking for a sound card driver that disappeared after compaq was absorbed by HP, just so i can format this thing.its a sad state of affairs when you have to use multiple antivirus and spyware programs to keep your passwords from being stolen. after that, i have to find another computer on a different network that i feel is safe enough to go through and change all my bank passwords, .info password, ebay, paypal (&c. &c.) just to be sure.