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Network Monitoring...

As a small follow up to Wireless Security, I stumbled across a pretty decent app that allows the monitoring of inbound, outbound, traffic, as well as several other handy indicators for those more inclined to network technology.

It also has a nice alert management feature that can be configured several different ways.

(30 day trial $75.00 for registration)

CommView Network Monitoring

Open WiFi Networks...

This is quite an interesting story, and a personal one too.

I currently live in a Condominium complex that has over 30 units. I came across the other day, a gentlemen who was literally sitting on the floor in the hallway, with a laptop.

My next thought was, "what is this guy doing?" for one, he isn't even wearing a shirt. Next, I thought "ahh maybe he's stealing Wifi?"

So I proceeded to ask him if he was a resident. He said yes, and I quickly asked him if he was piggybacking an open network. He said yes. This guy has been doing this now for 2 weeks, and is there in the morning when I leave for the day, and is often there when I come back.

Granted, this guy was sitting 5 feet outside my front door; it was a bit disturbing and in such a blatent manner. I told the property management that he was sitting in the hallway, but they seemed to balk at the message.

Now, I'm not happy about the whole situation with this guy, but most of the blame should be placed on the 3 open networks just in our end of the complex.

It mostly is because of the rapid growth in wireless access and little education about the ramifications to setting one up without knowing how to lock it down.

This is very common, as some people are mislead at the stores when they purchase the WiFi router and equipment. Often, they will be told "yes, this is all you need to get setup." and "once you plug it in and setup, you'll be able to surf the internet."

For many people, this is the main goal, and so security is either dismissed or not even mentioned in the first place.

The reason for this posting really is to raise awareness about open WiFi networks and how it can be a potential problem for you and others that may be on your network.

Simply put, there are several threats that arise when you are not running a secure WiFi network. It is your responsibility to make sure that in the least, you are SSID, WEP, secure, and employing the access point / router as your firewall. Even using a software firewall in addition to these steps, can be an added layer of protection and can be useful to alert you to access intruisions (ones that you may or may not recognize as real threats so education here is also important).

Regardless, there are several steps that can be taken to make sure someone can't easily hack your system, steal your personal information, sniff your data, or even the most obvious, simply steal your internet for free, while you pay the $40.00 bucks a month.

I have alerted the residents in my complex to call me if they want a free security assessment to figure out if they are secure or not.

If you or someone you know is running an open unsecured Wireless network, read up on how to secure it, or send an Email to Digital Fray.