Wi-fi Packet Sniffing Software

Tech Talk: Safely using Wi-Fi when traveling and on vacation

Memorial Day is almost here, the official kickoff for the summer season. The weather reporters are teasing us that after a cool, wet and gloomy week, we may have our first warm, sunny weekend ahead.

With warmer weather and summer vacations near, more and more of us will be using free or other public Internet access. Do you know how to safely use a wireless network that is not your own? I hope the tips I offer in this column will help you enjoy safe use of public Internet connections.

It's commonplace in today's world to find wireless networks available almost everywhere. In downtown Portsmouth, there is free wireless Internet access sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce and eCoast. Starbucks has made a name for itself as an office with good coffee, thanks to providing patrons with wireless Internet access, and even McDonald's has jumped on this trend. Then there are hotels, conference centers, condos and even airplanes, all offering free or paid for wireless access.

The availability of all this access is great for staying connected, but there are risks. Make smart decisions when using Internet access other than your own, so that you do not accidentally expose your personal or business information to would-be hackers.

Fundamentally speaking, you would be wise to treat any publicly available Internet connection as not safe. Public wireless networks, the type you will find in the aforementioned locations, as well as libraries, trains, buses, bookstores and more, are not encrypted, which means any data you send over them is vulnerable to be "seen" by a hacker. These days, a hacker could be someone like the kid next door, equipped with a common piece of software called a packet sniffer, that will allow them to see everything you type and send across the Internet, like the password to log in to your e-mail or your work network.

Using technologies like a VPN or SSL encrypted connections will help defeat this risk. With the rapid proliferation of smartphone, tablets, netbooks and notebooks, almost everyone has some type of portable device to access the Internet. Using them safely is not something to take lightly.

For any type of device that connects to the Internet, it's a best practice to keep your wireless connection turned off unless you are specifically using it. Once you connect to a public wireless network, your device will automatically re-connect to it whenever it is in range, even if you do not intend to. You should pay close attention to options presented to you when connecting to wireless networks. I recommend not saving any public connections, which will help prevent you from automatically reconnecting the next time you are in range. If you don't do this, your device will reconnect without any interaction from you and you could be exposing your information. More smartphones and tablets have a software switch to turn your wireless on and off. Many netbooks and notebooks also have a physical switch to turn the wireless on or off. When you are not using it, turn your wireless connection off.

Malang Cyber Crew » Google Wi-Fi Judge Asks if Packet Sniffing Is ...

The question of whether Google is liable for damages for secretly intercepting data on open Wi-Fi routers across the United States is boiling down to the definition of a “radio communication.”

That appears to be the legal theory embraced by the Silicon Valley federal judge presiding over nearly a dozen combined lawsuits seeking damages from Google for eavesdropping on open Wi-Fi networks from its Street View mapping cars. The cars had been equipped with Wi-Fisniffing hardware to record the names and MAC addresses of routers to improve Google location-specific services.

But those cars were also capturing the contents of internet packets that were sent over unencrypted Wi-Fi as they drove by, something the company said was an accidental leftover from testing.

While the company quickly admitted that it had made a mistake and temporarily grounded its fleet of mapping vehicles last year, the company was confronted with a number of investigations around the world, as well as class-action lawsuits that were joined in San Jose, California. The lawsuits are being heard by U.S. District Judge James Ware.

At the center of the legal flap is whether Google breached the Wiretap Act. The answer is important not only to Google, but to the millions who use open, unencrypted Wi-Fi networks at coffee shops, restaurants or any other business trying to cull customers.

Google said it is not illegal to intercept data from unencrypted, or non-password-protected Wi-Fi networks. Plaintiffs’ lawyers representing millions of Americans whose internet traffic was sniffed by Google think otherwise, and are seeking unspecified damages.

Judge Ware, however, suggested the answer to the far-reaching privacy dilemma lies in an unanswered question. He has asked each side to define “radio communication” (.pdf) as it applies to the Wiretap Act, and wants to know whether home Wi-Fi networks are “radio communications” under the Wiretap Act.

In response, Google wrote last week that open Wi-Fi networks are akin to “radio communications” like AM/FM radio, citizens’ band and police and fire bands — and are “readily accessible” to the general public. Indeed, packet-sniffing software, such as Wireshark and Firebug, is easily available online.

Hence, because unencrypted Wi-Fi signals travel over the radio spectrum, they are not covered by the Wiretap Act, (.pdf) Google responded.

“There can be no doubt that the transfer of any sign, signal, writing, images, sound, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted over the radio spectrum constitutes a ‘radio communication.’ Indeed, there is nothing in the text or legislative history of the Wiretap Act that would exclude any transmission sent over the radio spectrum from the definition of ‘radio communication,’” Google wrote.

Jeff Duntemann's Wi-Fi Guide

Trust Management IV, 4th IFIP WG 11. 11 International Conference, IFIPTM 2010, Morioka, Japan, June 16-18, 2010, Proceedings

The Book of Wireless, A Painless Guide to Wi-Fi and Broadband Wireless

Is It Safe?, Protecting Your Computer, Your Business, and Yourself Online

Macworld, the Macintosh magazine