As more Americans use wireless networks everywhere from coffee shops and airports to libraries, the FBI has begun warning that hackers are increasingly lurking nearby to steal identities and pilfer bank accounts through unsecured Wi-Fi systems.
Unlike wired systems, which use cables to transport information through the Internet, Wi-Fi uses radio waves that industry leaders say are inherently more vulnerable.
And with an estimated 68,000 Wi-Fi "hot spots" in the United States now -- and many more on their way -- users are unaware that some of those sites, including entire cities and towns, might be unsecure.
While there are no exact numbers of individuals who might have fallen victim to such scams, the FBI is warning that information exchanged over those waves can be intercepted. And that means cyberthieves will be waiting to pounce.
"Make sure you're connecting to the town and not a guy who happens to be in town," Bryan Duchene, an FBI cybercrimes supervisor in Los Angeles, said of towns offering free Wi-Fi service.
After setting up shop at or near Wi-Fi hot spots, criminals can access personal information from users of unsecured servers who don't have adequate safeguards on their computers.
Another ploy takes advantage of the fact that some laptops, by default, will log on to the strongest signal when searching for a wireless connection. For a laptop user sitting at Starbucks, that signal might belong to a legitimate-looking -- but bogus -- server operated by a hacker, Duchene said.
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"If the bad guy happens to be sitting two tables over and he's broadcasting a (stronger) signal, it'll override what you're trying to get to," he said.
Once in, a hacker can steal passwords and credit-card information and install viruses, worms and other malware -- malicious software - - on a computer that can spread to other systems you run.
Protect your system
Duchene recommends that Wi-Fi users change their settings so they have to manually input the Service Set Identifier (SSID) they want to log on to.
While free-access seekers spawned the "wardriving" phenomenon -- Wi-Fi users drove around with GPS systems and Wi-Fi-seeking laptops, marking locations of unsecured, free Wi-Fi sites -- that practice eventually piqued the interest of criminals, Duchene said.
"Some people were just trying to have a free economic society and there are always those people who will take something like that and exploit it for bad purposes," he said.
After browsing the wireless Internet at a Barnes & Noble bookstore cafe in Burbank, Myleik Teele, 29, of Los Angeles said she routinely looks for unsecured wireless networks to gain free access to the Internet.
"If I'm somewhere else, I don't even check," she said. "If I click on and I'm online, I don't even worry about it."
Teele bought a secured limited-access pass to check her e-mail and surf the Net at the cafe. She readily admits, like scores of others, there's a lot she doesn't know about how Wi- Fi works.
"Sometimes (at home), my computer will jump onto my neighbor's signal," she said. "I will see Apartment 1A (on my screen) and I won't even be on my own Internet."
Some defaults preset
For Wi-Fi use at home, Duchene said, many people are unaware that some routers' SSID numbers and passwords are preset to a standard setting.
"Some vendors and manufacturers do have the same default password for all the routers, so if you leave the default settings, you could be vulnerable," Duchene said.
In that case, the solution is easy. Simply change the SSID and password.
Other recommendations from the FBI include making sure your laptop security is up to date with current versions of your operating system, Web browser, firewalls and anti-virus and anti- spyware.
Avoid balancing your checkbook or conducting other financial transactions, e-mailing and instant messaging via Wi-Fi. And turn off your laptop's Wi-Fi capabilities when you're not using them.
At a Starbucks in Burbank, whose secured hotspot Wi-Fi services will soon offer free, limited service to store card-carrying customers, UCLA student Sarah Houghton, 22, worked offline on her laptop to study for finals.
She admits that while she avoids shopping online and has secured Wi-Fi access as a student on the UCLA campus, she often logs on to unsecured wireless sites to use the Internet.
"If you want to check e-mail or something, wherever you are," she said, "you just kind of click on what's available."
By Rick Coca
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