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The Security Issues of Wireless Internet Connection
The widespread use of Wi-Fi Technology is bringing to light many security issues that may have gone unnoticed by the average user. Traditional wired connections have obvious security precautions that most users are accustomed too, but extra measures must often be used when transferring data across a wireless, and sometimes public network. A wireless Internet connection without security can easily give anyone access to your files, email, and even gives others the ability to make changes to your computer.
These types of security problems will probably have little impact on most users. Occasionally surfing the web at a coffee shop or having a wireless adapter set up on a printer will likely not bring down the house. To a business holes in security can cost time, money, and could possibly be a legal violation. A badly secured Wireless Internet connection is an open door for hackers to use the technology to cause general mischief or to even commit crimes. The most common methods currently in use to secure a Wi-Fi connection are SSIDs, Wi-Fi Protected Access, and WEP.
SSID (Service Set Identifiers)
Every data packet sent over a Wi-Fi connection has a specific identifier attached to it. This identifier, or SSID, can recognize particular wireless networks and everyone accessing a particular network must have the correct Service Set Identifier. From a security standpoint SSID alone offer almost no protection, but it does give a network a specific name making is clear what network a user in connected too.
Knowing where you are connected too has become increasingly important due in part to a wireless internet attack called The Evil Twin. While this may sound like something Dr. Evil would use, it’s a common hacker technique. The way it works is a hacker takes in a mobile wireless access point, usually set up on a laptop, and then enters a public area where an access point already exists. If no SSID is set up, then someone may actually log on to the hacker’s computer giving them access to all data sent and received. This is a great way to get access to usernames and passwords.
Even with SSID a hacker is going to name their network something confusingly similar. If you are at your favorite coffee shop and are about to log on, check the names of the networks carefully. Be careful if you see two possible networks with very similar spelling like these:
CoffeeHouse
CofeeeHouse
The hacker is hoping his network shows up first in the list, and that users will log on so quickly they won’t realize what they are doing.
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)
WPA was originally designed as an answer to security holes that were becoming apparent in the widely accepted WEP technology. Wi-Fi Protected Access is an attempt to create standards within the wireless security industry, and begin a move towards unifying the market. The Wi-Fi Alliance designed the technology and a scattered market is beginning to see a unified method of security on the horizon.
The two main differentiators between WPA and WEP are key size and the number of packets that actually carry the key. The number of characters in a WPA key is considerably more than a WEP key, and it would taking sifting through many more data packets to actually put a WPA key together.
WEP (Wired Equivalent Protection):
Wired Equivalent Protection uses encryption to protect data as it travels via radio waves from transceivers. This means that when you send your email from your laptop it becomes encrypted, is sent out wirelessly on radio carrier waves, is received by a wireless access point, is then decrypted and sent on to the Internet as any wired connection would. As the name implies this security was designed to provide the same level of security a wired connection would. This is not the case, but the security is usually strong enough for most users.
The reason WEP has never become as secure as a wired network is there is simply no way around the fact that anyone can intercept radio wave and get the data out of them. The level of encryption that the data has will mean the information is meaningless unless the interceptor has the WEP key. The problem here is that all data packets carry a piece of the key and that in time, with enough packets, the key can be produced. This is a lot of trouble to find out where a user has been surfing, but maybe not too much to acquire hundreds of credit card numbers. Again if you are not targeted by a hacker, WEP is surely enough protection. WEP is currently installed on almost all wireless routers available to consumers.
Online Games And Parents
Have you ever wondered what your child was rambling on about at the dinner table when he or she started saying things like “VR” or “RPG”? If so, you’re not alone. “VR” and “RPG” aren’t new text messaging acronyms – they’re acronyms for gaming and this article is going to introduce you to some of the more common forms.
If you at least thought of the Internet when you heard “VR” or “RPG” however, you’re on the right track. Exclusive to the online environment, “VR” or “RPG” – which consequently stands for virtual reality gaming and role playing games – are just two aspects of a gaming world gone wild. The days of playing scrabble in front of the fireplace are over in today’s generation, but we don’t believe you’ll hear too many people complaining about it. Today’s generation is fascinated with online gaming – an opportunity to play games over the Internet with hundreds of people at a time.
Available to anyone with a computer and fast Internet connection, there are thousands of online games available to play by anyone… sometimes free and sometimes for a fee. They range from the familiar family board games to strange and more complicated games which require a hundred page manual to understand. One thing that they all have in common however is that they’re fun to play.
The most common type of online game you’ll probably run into is the Flash game – usually located on educational sites or Yahoo! for Kids for example. These games may or may not involve other players, but they’re always full of color, they’re fast to download, and they’re fun to play. Since they run inside the web browser, no special equipment is needed. These are the simple games – more intriguing than checkers, but no more difficult to play than chess.
Another type of online gaming is more violent than the ones we described above and it’s similar to the “shoot-em-up” type games found on the first Nintendo and Playstation systems. Designed from the first person’s point of view, the player typically maneuvers around the screen as a weapon-clad hand – periodically changing weapons as the game’s scenario permits. The violence in these games vary from mild to offensive, and as a parent, you’re cautioned to monitor your children’s access to them – especially since these games are played online with other people.
Next, in terms of complication or violence, comes the virtual reality gaming and role playing games that we introduced earlier. These types of games require an extensive amount of time spent online since players assume the role of a game character in play. Players work hard to build up an inventory of weapons or skills – none of which can be accomplished in a period of thirty minutes or less. They then go on to interact with other characters which extends game time even longer (if it even stops). Both virtual reality gaming and role playing games require and encourage strategic thinking, but as parents, you may not be comfortable with the violence that’s prominent in some of these games. Nor may you be comfortable with the amount of time that playing these kinds of games can consume. Depending on the complexity of the game, any one person could spend at least six months at a game and having access to thousands of other players simultaneously doesn’t exactly make them easy to walk away from.
Our best advice is to learn about these games right along with your child and make the decision to play them (or not play them) together.