Is wireless internet safe?

I am going to the beach for the next few days. Is there any risk on using the net with the airport or hotel's wireless service? Is it safe to log into places like paypal and gmail?

 

Hmm...you know what? I'm quite sure it is...but I still wouldn't, just to be safe. I'm not sure if it's encrypted or not, and if it's easily crackable. The only thing I do when I'm at hotspots is check if my site is still up or not

 

Im pretty sure they are secure, I'd be more worried about experiencing dropouts more then anything.

 

You should be OK with those sites given that they're using SSL, as long as you make sure the certificates are OK.

At the first sign of any messages telling you the certificate was generated for site x but you're visiting site y, run a mile.

 

Couple articles you should read. CNN just did a big thing on this. They mentioned that motels are some of the most dangerous.

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2003/10/13/focus1.html
http://www.detnews.com/2005/technology/0511/02/A14-368819.htm
http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/ht/wirelessconn.htm

Hope this helps some.

Hope you have a safe travel.

 

The two main potential problems with wireless internet are:
1. The actual encryption/authentication scheme used for the connection/traffic read more here.
2. Honeypots. Anyone with a laptop can set up a honeypot, an access point with a stronger signal than the real access point. You then log into their computer, authenticate, the whole bit, and they're just sitting there sniffing your passwords/information, and pass the traffic on to the real AC. This is also an oft overlooked risk of using proxies.

 

whats amazing is the best place to sniff wireless is at at seo/sem converntion =P... I have heard....

 

Prolly why you hang around those conventions so much.... lol

 

Free hotspots and airport, hotel, coffee shop hotspots are very dangerous. The best way to use mobile internet is to get a high-speed mobile internet account through your cell provider (I believe Sprint has a good one.) Read this article on securing your WiFi network.

 

Webgeek can you explain why you digged up a thread that is 10 months old?

 

My bad! Sorry about that! I stumbled across the post. Internet security is a hot topic for me and one that I'm very passionate about. I've seen some really nasty things happen to colleagues and family members, and want to help as many people as possible tighten their security.

 

I'm actually glad you bumped this thread. Good info.

 

I think it should be secure

 

but it was good info he provided, so it's all fine.