Open Wireless Networks - How Risky Is It Really?

Matt,
I’m with you on this matter. And I was very disappointed that Bruce Schneier diminished this for such lame reasons. Your advice is right on. Unsecured, or inadequately secured (WEP) wireless networks are an unreasonable risk for both the user and the provider. Appropriate precautions must be taken.

And how many times does this actually happen?

I run an open AP myself. 90% of my time on the Internet is via wire anyways. A sometimes used laptop that connects to another computer via RDP wirelessly, which is in itself encrypted, and my wife’s work laptop that always goes through a VPN. The other objects that connect are my kid’s PSP and the Xbox 360, and their friends that may occasionally connect their PSP or laptop.

I sit in a cul-de-sac, and the closest neighbors in the back are 100 yards away. Anybody sitting around in our neighborhood sticks out, even when it’s our own cars. The closest neighbor to me is retired and doesn’t own a computer. The neighbor on the other side is also retired and has a computer and is wired into his cable ISP. He tried wireless and couldn’t get it to work, probably because we both had chosen the same channel (I’ve since moved mine). My son used a wireless connection there and frequently got connected to his AP and not ours.

The neighbors across the street have their own protected AP. And I don’t think it’s strong enough to get out any further than that.

Oh, and I have the logs emailed to me on a regular basis. Most of which shows when I’m getting attacked from the outside. I’m still trying to figure out why I keep getting hit with teardrop events on a daily basis.

Why obsess over something as trivial as this? I’m more likely to be hit by lightning than I am to have a legal issue with my AP. Living if Florida, that’s rather on the high side, but it still is true even if I were living somewhere else. My kids still use Limewire, so I’m more apt to be sued by the ??AA than get questioned about my AP. And that’s EXTREMELY small odds.

Internet security has become important for everyone in recent years. Previously, when computers were not so prevalent in the home users market and those that were, were not connected to the Internet in most cases virus protection, firewalls and other protective devices were almost a non-issue. Security was for companies that dealt with a lot of sensitive information and not those just playing games at home or performing simple tasks. The wireless network – and particularly the prevalence of it everywhere and not just in business environments – has created many new issues with security. Now that so many people do important tasks online – from banking to shopping to many other things that require extensive passwords and the exchanging of credit card information and identification numbers, etc. – everyone needs to be cautious about how they are presenting information and protecting their computers in ANY environment. I think it’s easy to forget this concept when connecting to the Internet from almost anywhere in the world is so simple and extraordinarily fast!

I went back to reference this and couldn’t find it. Turns out the URL changed after I commented. Go figure.