[MLB-WIRELESS] Security concerns loom in new wireless world

[Barry Park]

Crackers become "whackers". *Sigh*
- Barry

Security concerns loom in new wireless world

July 21, 2002

BY HOWARD WOLINSKY

Wireless networks are full of holes that pranksters, criminals and
terrorists can enter and break into personal information people keep on
their computers. But home and business users can take steps that go a long
way toward plugging security leaks.

Security experts advise wireless networkers to throw up as many obstacles as
possible for "whackers," wireless hackers.

Don't advertise the presence of your network to the world with a name that
reveals who you are, such as ACME Corp. Network or Smith Family Network.
Instead, create a name from a meaningless string of letters and numbers. In
obscurity there is security. Also, don't use the factory default network
name for a network. For example, a network named "linksys" is a giveaway
that someone bought equipment made by Linksys. When a factory default name
is broadcast, it often means the system was taken straight out of the box
and plugged in, with no security measures put in place.

Roaming the Chicago area with a scanner for a few days, the Sun-Times
detected 1,064 wireless networks. They were operated by these types of
organizations:

More at http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-protect21.html



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