Create a long 15+ character Windows password for all accounts. Turn on SecureBoot in your BIOS if possible and (as a minimum) add a BIOS boot (or BIOS admin) password.(Microsoft Bitlocker is available for free on some low-cost Windows devices and on all Windows ‘Pro’ installations. If possible, use a PC with an encrypted disk.The checklist is unworkable for most people. If you are about to connect to an unknown hotspot don’t use a Windows PC unless you’re either a) happy with the risks or b) you’ve taken time to harden your PC with the 13-point checklist below. Can you imagine what goes on at the CES show in Las Vegas? At every airport in the world? At the cheap cyber café and on that open hotspot you found from your apartment? It was easy, cheap and effective and that was just in a class of 20 people. After I had logged into the Facebook page I turned on the projector which was connected to my Linux-box-Internet, did a search on Wireshark and read out my password.
I served up a router, DHCP, DNS and even faked a Facebook login page. As part of a demo I set up a ‘fake Internet’ using about 150 euros of equipment. Last December I was teaching journalists about internet security and privacy in Ukraine. The next time you join a new WiFi hotspot think about this: Is the site you’re looking at really the site you think it is? Is the DNS server really serving the correct IP addresses? Is the ISP behind the hotspot someone you trust? Do you trust everyone on the network that you’ve just connected to? How many of your apps have access to your location, permission to use your social networks, WiFi, your contact and SMS information and even to an unencrypted version of your internet traffic? PC and smartphones operating systems were not built with today’s risks in mind, and they’ve got worse. There’s more code in the operating system now, more 3rd-party applications, more sensors, more connectivity and more people to exploit creating ‘business models’ that were never imaginable. In 2020, Chromebooks, also based on the Linux kernel, have hit the mark and are now one of the most secure laptop types you can buy. It all looks pretty clean and with the automatic updates, there should be no need to worry too much about security.
…I was able to check for software listening on IP ports. My first mention of security on this site was when I did a mini review of the Pepperpad 3 in October 2006.
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