There have been several topics here lately regarding finding wi-fi hotspots when traveling. I tnought it would be good to pass along this cautionary note that was in the Wall St Journal this morning.

The Journal advised that you “resist using a free signal; it could be a hacker nearby who is waiting for people to use the decoy Internet access.”

They also said to be sure you have your firewall turned on, and your file sharing turned off when using a public service.

The article noted that your email provider’s webmail service is more likely to have an extra layer of security than your desktop email client.

Also related to this, there was a story in the NY Times yesterday about the spreading problem of keystroke logging software that is being installed via various malicious programs, and which can then capture your personal information. I believe, although the story did not say so explicitly, that this is, like most malware, currently a problem primarily for Windows users, since it is much easier to write those kinds of hacks for Windows than Macs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/27/technology/27hack.html

The story referred readers to this page for information on securing your web browser:
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/securing_browser/

There are a lot of excellent tips in that article, for both Windows and Mac users.

Good tip. But I should add not to carry any important data or confidential data whenever possible and why not get a mac laptop only for traveling. That's what I just did and it is SO small.

Has anyone out there used any of the WiFi security tools such as JiWire's Spotlock? Apparently they have a security feature (free at first and then monthly subscription) that encrypts everything you send over the internet. It also has a firewall and an SMTP relay (whatever). I think what they have is called a VPN (Virtual Private Network). I already have a firewall. I'm wondering if this is something else I need. I'll be using WiFi in various locations in Europe (Paris, Munich, Rome, among others) and I don't want to be vulnerable.

Okay. I found out some information about JiWire's Spotlock by using Google. I found this PC Magazine review: JiWire Spotlock Review.

The security features sound good to me. And I found out that the SMTP relay lets you send SMTP email from your regular SMTP account even when you are away from your home connection. For example, I have an account on comcast.net. In the past, when I travel, I've had to use either my hotmail email account or comcast's web-based user interface to send and receive mail. I could not just use Outlook to send and receive from my comcast.net account. From what I understand, JiWire's SMTP relay would allow me to send comcast.net email from Outlook even if I was sitting in a remote WiFi internet cafe. While this isn't a big deal for me, some SMTP email accounts don't have web-based user interfaces, so for those people, this could be a nice thing to have.

Would still like to hear from anyone who has used this or a similar product.

Thx

Thanks for the information. I've never used wireless security tools, but I'm going to start looking into it.

I had a problem with "Evil Twin," where a hacker makes a login site that looks just like a registration page. In this case, it was for the Hampton Inn. At first, I didn't notice because the page looked legit. Then, I realize that site url was slightly different than the one on the card that the hotel front desk gave me. I immediately logged off and shut down my computer. When I called the front desk to let them know, they didn't seem to care. I even spoke with a manager!