And another tidbit from the front lines from Tech Support Guy.
“My full-of-holes, why bother, what’s the worst that can happen attitude about the WEP key and password hassle prompted a letter from the cable provider. We were informed that someone from our host computer’s IP address had been downloading movies. I unplugged the wireless access point, called the cable co. and informed them about the unsecured wireless and that it was being corrected immediately, that they were welcomed to examine our computer to see that no movies were downloaded. Long story short nothing further came from that incident. There is an apartment complex nearby and apparently, someone there had bootlegged our wireless signal –quite a distance. Our wireless signal is now secure and unobtainable by the neighbors.”
An open wireless can allow your neighbors to surf the web on your Internet connection, and you will be blamed for whatever they are downloading: the latest episode of “Glee”, the new Madonna song, or child pornography. Not to mention that they can rummage around in any shared files you have on your computer. Turn on your encryption, and I recommend using WPA2 for the highest level of security available. And choose a non-obvious passcode – don’t just use your last name. Your neighbors know your name, and it would be the first thing their budding teen hacker would try.
Share
FEB
About the Author:
I am a cybersecurity and IT instructor, cybersecurity analyst, pen-tester, trainer, and speaker. I am an owner of the WyzCo Group Inc. In addition to consulting on security products and services, I also conduct security audits, compliance audits, vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. I also teach Cybersecurity Awareness Training classes. I work as an information technology and cybersecurity instructor for several training and certification organizations. I have worked in corporate, military, government, and workforce development training environments I am a frequent speaker at professional conferences such as the Minnesota Bloggers Conference, Secure360 Security Conference in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, the (ISC)2 World Congress 2016, and the ISSA International Conference 2017, and many local community organizations, including Chambers of Commerce, SCORE, and several school districts. I have been blogging on cybersecurity since 2006 at http://wyzguyscybersecurity.com