FB-I said "Be careful his bowtie is really a wi-fi"Next time you flip open your laptop as you wait for a flight or work at a coffee shop, beware, says the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The person next to you may be stealing your personal bank account information, address book and other files from your computer.
The agency warned earlier this week that the information on your computers may not be protected when using some of the 68,000 Wi-Fi hot spots, or local wireless Internet connections, around the country.
"Odds are there's a hacker nearby, with his own laptop, attempting to 'eavesdrop' on your computer to obtain personal data that will provide access to your money or even to your company's sensitive information," the FBI said in a advisory on its Web site.
Think that's bad, the FBI goes further to warn that if a hacker hooks into your computer, you are also connecting to his computer. That means you could be unknowingly downloading viruses and worms.
Protect yourself:
• Update the security protection on your computer with current versions of operating systems, web browsers, firewalls and antivirus and anti-spyware software.
• When tapped into a Wi-Fi network, don't conduct financial transactions or use e- mail and instant messaging.
• Change the default setting on your laptop so you have to manually select the Wi-Fi network you connect to.
• Turn off your laptop's Wi-Fi capabilities when you're not using them. (more)
Clients... Ask us to demonstrate this during our next eavesdropping detection audit.
