Wireless and Security

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

With a lot of the Timeshares going to unsecured wireless, is there any way to make your computer on their system secure so that you could do credit card transactions, etc.? It is such a pain to go to dail up to order something, etc.

[GoodNinny Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close GoodNinny]

credit cards on wireless

I have often made Priceline reservations for the trip home on unsecured wireless, but they already have my number on file. You can also go to your credit card website and request a secure number just to use online, which supposedly cannot be stolen. I have not done this though I need to as it is probably the only way to be sure someone does not get my number. Its too bad we have to worry about such evil people.

[dale7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dale7]

If you have Bank of America they have ways of making transactions more safe.

Like a temporary credit card that is only good at one place.

They will let you setup to instant message to your cell phone a password that is only good for a one time use or 10 minutes for on line banking.

I would think other banks would have this to.

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

Actually whether the wireless connection you are using is secured or unsecured doesn't have much effect on the ability of someone to capture and steal info you are sending across the line if they are smart enough and have some pretty readibly available tools.
In an unsecured environment anyone with basic wireless capabilities can gain access to that network. In a secured environment by using one or another r of WEP key security or MAC address filter tables you can control who has access to the network. The danger you are generally protecting against in this case is having someone attach to your wireless network and "use your resources" or gain access to files, etc. that you have set up as shared on computers on the network. These "secured" networks protect you from the casual user seeing your network and attaching to it.
From a network point of view the real danger with credit card information and other sensitive data is having someone attach to the network you are on and use what is called a "sniffer" device to actually look at the data packets being passed over the network and from those data packets find credit card numbers etc. This requires a bit more sophistication than just a casual user seeing the network and signing on. If a person has that level of sophistication they probably also have the ability to get around the types of securities that are generally put on "secured" networks. There are lots of readily available hacking tools that someone with a bit of knowledge can use.
Another aspect to this that doesn't get mentioned very much is that even on a secured network people that are on the network legitimately can then set up a sniffer and look at the data packets being sent and gather info from them if they wanted to. This isn't so much of a worry on a home network where you know your users but on a shared public network it could be a problem.
Sorry to go on a bit on this but the real bottom line is that if you are really concerned about someone getting your credit card or other personal information, having a secured network vs unsecured only provides a very small level of protection.
The good news on this is that most credit card number and other identify thefts don't occur because of unsecured wireless networks. The payoff isn't big enough on any one wireless network for most serious thief's. You are more likely to have your info compromised because a big store has some IT security problems that allow a data thief to get in to their systems.
All that being said, I would definitely set up any home network you have with some type of security and if I sign on to any unsecured networks I stop any "sharing" I am doing on my laptop.
Again sorry to make this so long but I hope it helps someone.

[Jim McLaren Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jim McLaren]

All that Ken says is true. No wireless network can be made secure. With two computers attacking a wireless network, it takes a hacker 5-20 minutes to break in, even a secure network. To protect yourself you should do the following:

• Like Ken says, turn off all sharing on your computer.
• Make sure you have a good personal firewall.
• Have good antivirus & antispyware.
• When you connect to a website where you are giving credit card info, make sure that connection is secure. The transmissions between your computer & the web server will be encrypted. This encryption is more secure than your network ever will be. I'm not saying it can't be broken but we're talking days, not minutes. Usually not worth the hacker's time.

The bottom line is if your computer is protected and you're connected to a secure web site, you should be safe. I would be more worried about talking on a wireless phone than my computer.