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WI-FI
WI-FI MAY BE HANDY WHEN AWAY FROM HOME OR OFFICE .BUT BEWARE , YOU MAY HAVE UNWANTED COMPANY WHILE SURFING.
NO ONE IN The EVENING CROWD AT A STARBUCKS KNEW HUMPHREY CHEUNG .BUT HE KNEW THINGS ABOUT THEM.SEVERAL TABLES AWAY WAS A GUY SITTING WITH OWN LAPTOP. "HE IS STARTING A BUSINESS" CHEUNG SAID. AND THE YOUNG COUPLE IN THE FAR CORNER ?. "THEY ARE GETTING MARRIED".HE CONFIDED
CHEUNG IS NOT PHYCHIC. HE HAD HACKED INTO THE COFFEE SHOP'S WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTION ON HIS TOSHIBA LAPTOP. IT TOOK ABOUT FIVE MINUTES TO DO SO, USING FREE SOFTWARE AVAILABLE ONLINE.
PUBLIC WI-FI OR WIRELESS FIDELITY IS VERY HANDY FOR PERSUING THE NET AWAY FROM THE OFFFICE OR HOME.JUST REMEMBER THAT YOU MAY HAVE COMPANY WHILE SURFING " WHEN PEOPLE ARE ON PUBLIC WIRELESS CONNECTION THEY HAVE THE SAME EXPECTATIONS ABOUT PRIVACY AS WHEN THEY ARE ON THE INTERNET AT HOME SAID CHEUNG 32 A COMPUTER SECURIYY EXPERT AND AN EDITOR FOR TG DAILY ,A TECHNOLOGY NEWS WEBSITE .BUT IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY.SOMEONE COULD BE LISTENING IN.
CHEUNG WAS USING A SNIFFER PROGRAMME THAT INTERCEPTED ONLINE SIGNALS AS THEY FLEW BACK AND FORTH FROM THE LAPTOPS TO A WIRELESS MODEM.HIDDEN SOMEWHERE AMID THE COFFEE PARAPHERNALIA. MOSTLY THE MONITORING WAS LIMITED TO TRACKING THE WEBSITES BEING VISITED.
NUMBERS CORELATING TO WEB ADDRESSES FLEW ACROSS CHEUNG'S COMPUTER SCREEN, ALLOWING HIM TO SEE THAT THE COUPLE WAS VIEWING PAGES AT A WEDDING- PLANNING SITE.
THE MAN A FEW TABLES AWAY STARTED WITH SITES SELING HI-SPEED BROADBAND SERVICE, THEN WENT TO A PAGE ABOUT MANAGING WEBSITES .LIKE A MYSTERY YARN.THE CLUES KEPT COMING IN.YOU START TO GET A STORY ABOUT SOMEONE" CHEUNG SAID.
THE COMPANY THAT PROVIDES Wi-Fi SIGNALS AT STARBUCKS IS T-MOBILES USA Inc.IT MANAGES ABOUT 7600 HOTSPOTS NATIONWIDE,INCLUDING IN COFFEE SHOPS,HOTELS,AND AIRPORTS.T-MOBILES OFFERS A FREE SOFTWARE PROGRAMME CONNECTION MANAGER TO IMPROVE BROWSING SECURITY, SAID MIKE SELMAN,THE SERVICES MARKETING DIRECTOR. YOU CAN USE THIS TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE CONNECTED PROPERLY TO OUR NETWORK,SELMAN SAID.AND THE COMMUNICATIONS ARE ENCRYPTED FROM THE LAPTOP "BUT THE SECURITY PROGRAMME ALSO SEEMS TO BE MORE OR LESS A SECRET. NOT ONLY DOES THE NAME OF THE PROGRAMME NOT MENTION SECURITY,BUT THE LINK TO DOWNLOAD IT ALSO GROUPED WITH OTHER ITEMS IN A DROPDOWN MENU.IF YOU HAVE A MACINTOSH COMPUTER ,YOU ARE OUT OF LUCK.THE SOFTWARE COMES ONLY IN A WINDOWS VERSION.
ON HOME Wi-Fi SETPS ,PASSWORD PROTECTION CAN BE IMPLEMENTED ON THE MODEM , WHICH OFFERS A LOT OF SECURITY----ALTHOUGH SOME HACKERS SAY THEY CAN BREAK THROUGH THE MOST BASIC PROTECTION REGIMEN,KNOWN AS WEP.PUBLIC Wi-Fi SETUPS WHETHER PAID OR FREE DONT HAVE THE LUXURY OF USING PASSWORDS.THAT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE OF ALLOWING A GREAT MANY PEOPLE TO USE THEM.
FREE Wi-Fi HOTSPOTS ARE BEING ADDED TO MORE OUTDOOR AREAS EVERYWHERE.SO ENJOY THE FREEDOM OF Wi-Fi.BUT MAY BE YOU SHOULD NOT SURF TO SITES YOU WOULD NOT WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW YOU ARE VISITING "IF YOU WATCH WHERE PEOPLE GO ,ONE SITE AFTER ANOTHER" CHEUNG SAID."IT ALMOST LIKE YOU CAN READ THEIR MINDS.
