Is My Computer Safe If I Use Wireless Internet?

This is the one of the many questions I get all the time when I help out family and friends with computer issues. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the questions or helping others, but this is just the start to many wireless Internet questions:

• What is this WPA or WEP? And which one should I use?
• How strong of password should I have?
• Can someone hack my wireless?
• Can YOU hack my wireless? – Haha, yes I have been asked this.

In the end, it always boils down to: Is wireless Internet safe to use? My personal opinion is it is as safe as the encryption and password complexity you use on the network and your trust of others using the wireless with you. Remember, you can be at risk if you are sharing your Internet access with others. Again, this is my personal opinion, but lets be honest and not dumb here, not everyone sitting in the coffee shop or in the airport using open wireless is a normal Internet user just checking their sports updates or the local weather at their destination. All it takes is one malicious user to ruin your day.

I came across (well I didn’t, I actually had some quality research help from Katy…thank you a ton BTW!) an article that emphasizes my exact point. In the article, it talks about how malicious users are using open Wi-Fi (another name for wireless Internet) access points at airports to launch and attack unsuspecting users with scareware (malware that acts like it is a program that will do a virus scan and clean your computer but in reality is a piece of malware). As the article states, this is just one piece of malware that was seen, not to mention the possible other malware and even the potential malicious computer users accessing the wireless Internet along side of you stealing all your credentials as you access your bank account or check your E-mail (yes this is possible and not difficult for the savvy computer user). I’m not going too deep into the technical aspects of setting up your wireless network, but I suggest the basics would be to use WPA2 for your encryption and make sure you change your router configuration from the factory defaults (I am talking to you, “linksys” or “netgear” wireless access point owner!).

I can’t conclude this article without mentioning Bruce Schneier’s (Bruce is a computer security expert that has been in the “game” for a long time and very knowledgeable in the field) article explaining how he leaves his home wireless Internet open, meaning he uses no encryption to secure access. The article is a couple of years old but is still relevant and Bruce makes some solid points. I am not going to get into arguing his points, but I am going to jump on the comment that “Security is always a trade-off.” My take is that I personally would rather take a few minutes to setup some wireless security on my network than not to have any at all. And if you ever ask me taking a few minutes to add a little security can go a long way.

So, yes your computer is safe if you use a secure home wireless network, configured with some of the basics I mentioned above. But be extra cautious when using any open wireless Internet in a public place. “Surf at your own risk” would be a good caveat. If you have questions about setting up a wireless network for your small business, please contact us at Etnacom where I know that our experience professionals can assist you in getting your business up and running… wirelessly.