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Just a public service announcement....
I shouldnt have to post this, but a scary amount of users that contact me with bugs are also using unsecured wireless networks. Unsecured wireless networks, particularly those that are not your own, should be used with caution. If someone didn't bother securing their network, there's a reasonable chance they didn't change their router password too and the router may be compromised.
On an unsecured wireless network, your connection is unencrypted and should be treated as untrusted. Everything you transmit and receive, passwords, DNS, web content is all unencrypted for pretty much anyone to see. POP3 and forum passwords are two good examples. It's trivial to observe all this too, all that's needed is a wireless card and an app to dump packets. Passwords and browsing history in plain text. You're also more vulnerable to MITM and other attacks.
Obviously HTTPS and POP3 over SSL and other encrypted connections offer a level of security, but then, if the DNS has been compromised - do you know if you're establishing that connection with your mail server, http server or someone's malicious server? I suppose you should be OK if you're browsing over VPN or SSH though.
Something to keep in mind next time you think about checking your mail on that unsecured network...
Last edited by iphitus (2008-11-20 06:32:18)
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