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5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Hackers on Airline WiFi

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When getting on a flight many business professionals connect online. It’s common these days to see a number of people on an airplane busy at their laptops—business-looking people dressed in suits, eyes pasted to spreadsheets, charts, graphs and other grinding tasks.

4WHow many know that their company’s data can be snatched out of thin air, literally?

Here’s the thing: If you are connecting to WiFi on a plane and have all these company secrets on your device and all this client data, there is a solid chance you are risking information. Savvy business travelers may not be savvy about security—or, specifically, the lack thereof in airplane WiFi.

When logging onto an airplane WiFi, there isn’t any encryption preventing other users from seeing your data. The majority of the security in airplane WiFi is built into the payment system to protect your credit card. Beyond that, you’re pretty much left to the dogs.

The plane’s WiFi service comes in cheap (something like $12.95), but with a cost: no protection. Other people can see your or your company’s trade secrets and other private information. If the airline boasts there IS security, they mean for your credit card. Not much more.

Another thing travelers usually don’t know is that when they boot up their device, they may be tricked into selecting a particular connection (wireless network), without knowing that this network has been set in place by a hacker, they call this an “evil twin”. If you connect to it, your data is his to see.

GoGo is an in-flight WiFi service that a researcher says was using phony Google SSL certificates that interfered with passengers’ ability to get video streaming services but more alarming it was reported it also allowed data leakage. In short, GoGo made it look like this was coming from Google.

GoGo was called on this. In a report on theregister.co.uk, GoGo’s chief technology officer explains that the company’s feature did not snatch data from passengers, and that it only served the purpose of blocking streaming services. They said that GoGo simply wanted to upgrade network capacity for air travel passengers, and that they don’t support video streaming. Still, not cool.

How can airline passengers protect their data?

  • When you’re not using WiFi, when it’s time to nap or read some nonsense about the Kardashians in a print magazine, go to your wireless manager and disable the WiFi connection with a right-click. Your laptop may also have a keyboard key to do this.
  • If you must absolutely use public Wi-Fi for activities involving highly sensitive information, make sure that the Wi-Fi network is secure and trusted.
  • Before you get onto any website, check the URL field to make sure that there is an “https” (not “http”) AND a padlock icon; these indicate the site is secure. Also check the security certificate.
  • Make sure that every device that you own has full protection such as antivirus and a firewall.
  • You can also use encryption. Encryption scrambles your data so that it appears to be gibberish to any hackers or snoops wanting to get ahold of it. Encryption comes in the form of a virtual private network, such as that offered by Hotspot Shield. It’s free and will scramble (encrypt) all of your online activity such as things you download, purchases, etc. This provides an impenetrable shield that guards your online actions.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

How to see and boot off Someone using your WiFi

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You were taught to share your toys as a young child, but this doesn’t apply to letting others use your Wi-Fi. The difference between sharing the plastic shovel and sharing the wireless connection is that with the latter, who’s to say that the “thief” won’t eventually crash in on your private information? And don’t forget that not only will this sharing possibly slow down your connection, but there could be legal repercussions if this moocher uses your connection for bad deeds.

2WHow can you spot a moocher?

  • Log into your computer’s router’s administrative console: Type its IP address straight into the browser address bar. Don’t know the router’s default address? Go to (Start > Run/Search for cmd) and then enter ipconfig.
  • The address you want will be next to Default Gateway, under Local Area Connection.
  • Mac users can locate the address by going to System Preferences, then beneath that, Network. If you’re using Ethernet it’ll be next to “Router:” and if you’re using Wi-Fi, click on “Advanced…” and go to “TCP/IP.”
  • Point browser to the address; enter your login details. If you’ve never changed the default settings, the login should be a combination of “password” and “admin” or blank fields.
  • Locate a section for wireless status or connected devices. Here you’ll find a table with details including the IP and MAC address of all devices currently connected to the router.
  • To find moochers, check that list against your gear.
  • To find the MAC/IP address of your computer, go to the Command Prompt and enter ipconfig /all. The MAC address will show as the physical address.

How to Help Prevent Mooching

  • Implement a strong password; use WPA2 or WPA, not WEP.
  • Turn off the SSID broadcast.
  • An alternative to the prior point is to set a filter up for blocked or allowed devices by MAC address.
  • Whenever on free public WiFi use Hotspot Shield to mask and encrypt all your data as it fly’s through the air.

If you want to find out just who is getting a free ride on your wireless, use MoocherHunter. This tool will locate the source within two meters of accuracy. Tracking down the culprit will prove handy if the moocher has been getting you in trouble by using your network for illegal activities.

On the other hand, if the lectures about sharing your toys still ring loud in your head, why not make lemonade out of this lemon by using a third-party firmware alternative to run a public hotspot? You can then offer for-pay Internet access points that come from your consumer router. Another option is to get a Fonera router. If you share some of your home WiFi, the Fonera router will grant you free roaming at Fon Spots all over the world.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

Big ISP free Wi-Fi hazardous to your Data Health

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Beware of “Free Wi-Fi” or “Totally Free Internet,” as this probably IS too good to be true. These are likely set up by thieves to trick you into getting on a malicious website.

3WAT&T and Xfinity have provided many free hotspots for travelers to get free Wi-Fi: all over the country. Sounds great, right? However, these services make it a piece of cake for thieves to gain access to your online activities and snatch private information.

AT&T sets mobile devices to automatically connect to “attwifi” hotspots. The iPhone can switch this feature off. However, some Androids lack this option.

Cyber thugs can set up fake hotspots called “evil twins”, which they can call “attwifi,” that your smartphone may automatically connect to.

For Xfinity’s wireless hotspot, you log into their web page and input your account ID and password. Once you’ve connected to a particular hotspot, it will remember you if you want to connect again later in that day, at any “xfinitywifi” hotspot and automatically get you back on.

If someone creates a phony WiFi hotspot and calls it “xfinitywifi,” smartphones that have previously connected to the real Xfinity network could connect automatically to the phony hotspot—without the user knowing, without requiring a password.

None of this means that security is absent or weak with AT&T’s and Xfinity’s networks. There’s no intrinsic flaw. It’s just that they’re so common that they’ve become vehicles for crooks.

Smartphones and Wi-Fi generate probe requests. Turn on the device’s WiFi adapter. It will search for any network that you’ve ever been connected to—as long as you never “told” your device to disregard it. The hacker can set the attack access point to respond to every probe request.

Your device will then try to connect to every single WiFi network it was ever connected to, at least for that year. This raises privacy concerns because the SSIDs that are tied with these probe requests can be used to track the user’s movements.

An assault like this can occur at any public WiFi network. These attacks can force the user to lose their connection from their existing Wi-Fi and then get connected to the attacker’s network.

Two ways to protect yourself:

#1 Turn off “Automatically connect to WiFi” in your mobile device, if you have that option.

#2 the best way to protect and encrypt all your data in your laptop, tablet, or mobiule is via Hotspot Shields software to encrypt all your data even if you automatically connect to a free WiFi.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

WiFi world wide a Big Security Issue

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Do you access your various financial or social media accounts, or other private accounts such as e-mails with your doctor, at public computer stations? At the coffee house or hotel, for instance? Boy, are you ever setting yourself up for cybercrime including identity theft.

3WWhat usually happens is that the criminals establish Wi-Fi hotspots that trick people into thinking they are legitimate public Wi-Fi locations—people take the bait and log on. The crooks can then watch your communications through their Wi-Fi access points, and steal your personal information like passwords and credit card numbers.

A computerweekly.com report warns that anything you send via a public Wi-Fi may potentially fall into the hands of fraudsters.

One of the scams is that a criminal will get in the middle of a transaction between a user and a website, then intercept in tricky ways to steal the user’s data.

A Few Experiments

  • The security firm, First Base Technologies, did an experiment in November 2013. The public participants had no idea that thieves could set up rogue wireless points of access that fake out users as being valid connection points.
  • The participants were also shocked to learn that their exchanged information was not encrypted.
  • FBT did another experiment using its private wireless network and numerous mobile applications. FBT was easily able to use the apps to invade other smartphones on the same network.
  • One of these apps was a setup to get the participants to use the “attacking” smartphone as their portal to the Internet. This meant that the attacking device siphoned all the traffic and was able, in many instances, to remove encryption from supposedly secure connections.

This weakness in knowledge in the user, and in the security of public Wi-Fi, needs to be addressed by—obviously—the user and the providers of public Wi-Fis, plus business organizations that rely on public Wi-Fis.

Another survey in the same article found that 34 percent of PC users said that they do not take special precautions to safeguard their online interactions when using public Wi-Fi. Just 13 percent do take the time to inspect encryption prior to making a connection to a particular point.

So how can you protect yourself when using public Wi-Fi?

  • If you must absolutely use public Wi-Fi for activities involving highly sensitive information, make sure that the Wi-Fi network is secure and trusted.
  • Before you get onto any website, check the URL field to make sure that there is an “https” (not “http”) AND a padlock icon; these indicate the site is secure. Also check the security certificate.
  • Make sure that every device that you own has full protection such as antivirus and a firewall.
  • Use a reputable virtual private network such as Hotspot Shield to secure your device for public Wi-Fi use.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield VPN. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

Leaky WiFi leaks App data

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Recently a settlement was obtained between 2 companies with the FTC. The charge was that these organizations failed to secure their mobile apps, which put consumer’s private data at risk.

5WThe FTC says that these companies disabled the SSL certificate validation. This default process confirms that an application’s communications are secure.

Because the SSL was disabled, the apps were made prone to cyber attacks, in which crooks could steal data like SSNs, home addresses and credit card information.

These attacks are the man-in-the-middle type and are a particular threat to unprotected public Wi-Fi (hotels, coffee houses, etc.).

If you use your mobile on an unguarded network, a crook can get in between you and the site you want to visit, and pose as you and communicate with the intended site. Posing as you, he can then manipulate your data. The scoundrel can also make your mobile visit a fraudulent site that you think is legitimate and lure you into entering personal information.

A website is secure if the site address begins with “https.” However, the smartphone’s small browser discourages users from checking this. And crooks know this.

Of particular interest to criminals is texting between banks and companies that utilize a one-time password. The crook can intercept this transaction and gain access to sensitive data. He can actually redirect an intended wire transfer to his account.

All of this can be avoided by avoiding online financial transactions with a mobile device on public Wi-Fi. Don’t even visit your bank’s site. Also don’t send personal information via e-mail on public Wi-Fi. If you must conduct mobile transactions in public, buy a Wi-Fi device, get a VPN like Hotspot Shield or use your carrier’s 3G or 4G network.

Finally, install anti-malware programs on your mobile, especially if it’s an Android. Don’t just sit back and assume that the app makers, app sellers and other businesses are going to take care of all of this for you.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

5 rules for using coffee shop WiFi

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In order to compete with the likes of the chain coffee shops and now fast food joints, just about every coffee shop or small restaurant is supplying its clients with free WiFi. Unfortunately, there are people who don’t understand the rules of life as far as “give and take” in that you’ve got to give a little to get a little; they, unfortunately just take. They’re WiFi-sucking vampires who have no class and sit there for five hours and buy nothing.

You can’t walk into a coffee shop today and not see some guy taking up a table for four hours. He invariably has a laptop, tablet, mobile phone and even a mini printer all plugged into a power strip that he brought and plugged into one of few outlets in the shop. He and everyone like him are bad, shameless people.

Here’s how to play by the rules and not get dirty:

Remember that nothing is free. Paid WiFi anywhere is a minimum of 10 bucks a day. The coffee shop is a business supported by its customers. If everyone sat down and took and didn’t give, the shop would fold. Give back and spend at least five or 10 bucks for every mealtime you are there.

Minimize your impact. You are one person and should take up one chair, and maybe a small table. Bags go on the floor, not on chairs. Don’t hog bandwidth by downloading torrents.

Share. Only use an outlet if you absolutely need it. If you plug into an outlet, then precede that plug with a three-way power splitter with open receptacles, and don’t use an obnoxious power strip. When you see people looking to plug in, be kind enough to allow them to piggyback. They won’t ask, so offer.

Be quiet. Turn the sound off of your devices. Put your mobile on vibrate. When calls come in, speak softly as possible (really, just shut up; you’re very, very annoying). Better yet, suggest your would-be callers IM you instead. I’d tell you to walk outside, but…(see tip #5).

Think security. While you may become comfortable in your environment over time, don’t get up and leave any devices unattended while you go to the lav. They WILL be stolen. Know that free WiFi is unprotected WiFi, and your data is visible to anyone within 500 feet of the establishment. Use a virtual private networking application to encrypt your wireless communications.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield VPN. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247.