Why you should think twice about using WiFi

10.27.10 Posted in Hints and Tips, News by Mathew

Many people take advantage of WiFi hotspots when they are on the move. Free services like the one at most McDonalds takeaways are very popular, allowing people to check their email, and update Facebook without an expensive 3G wireless plan.

The problem is, they are totally insecure, and allow anyone with a bit of skill to hack your computer and your online accounts.

Well, that’s the GOOD news.

Now, even complete morons can hack into your Facebook or other online services with the click of a mouse. As reported by Computer World, the firesheep plugin is an addon to the popular firefox browser that lets you hack other peoples accounts without more than a mouseclick.

Basically, you install Firesheep into your Firefox browser, head down to your local WiFi hotspot and connect to it, and then Firesheep will AUTOMATICALLY hack other users accounts for you.

So, if you don’t need to, you should not use these WiFi hotspots. If you do, try not to use them for things like Facebook or your internet banking. If you really must, then you should install HotSpot Shield, which will protect you and your data from the evil users of software like Firesheep.

PC World have a good writeup on Firesheep.