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How safe are Public Wifi Networks?

Lisa Miles
Hi all


I hope one of you can help me.


One of my Facebook contacts (an old classmate from school) has asked this question on his newsfeed. I vaguely remember a lecture being held at Savoy Place (pre-refurb times) in which a speaker gave a rather apt demonstration by, before the delegates arrived, setting up his own 'public' wifi hotspot. During the lecture he displayed on screen the contents of a private email and the browsing history of someone in the room who had connected to his hotspot. 


I can't remember who the speaker was but I do remember watching a video of it. I'd like to be able to forward a link to it to my friend.


Does anyone recall such an event? I think it was at the IET but I can't be 100% sure.


Thanks in anticip.......ation. wink


Lisa
Parents
  • 0
    Hi Guy


    Yes that's exactly what the speaker was saying in the video I saw. He set up a hot spot and called it BT wifi or something like that. Many in the audience had connected to it and the speaker was able to show them all of the traffic that had gone through it too including browsing history, unencrypted emails and I think a password that someone had used to access a personal web account. It really made me think and since then I've never connected to a  free and open public wifi spot. blush


    I'd love to be able to find the video again as it really opened my eyes and as I said before, I'd like to share the video with others too.


    However, if anyone comes across or knows of another filmed lecture either by the IET or from another source (YouTube or TED talk etc) please feel free to share it here either by sharing the link in this discussion or by uploading or embedding it into the video gallery in this community 


    Thanks again for any assistance! 


    Lisa
Reply
  • 0
    Hi Guy


    Yes that's exactly what the speaker was saying in the video I saw. He set up a hot spot and called it BT wifi or something like that. Many in the audience had connected to it and the speaker was able to show them all of the traffic that had gone through it too including browsing history, unencrypted emails and I think a password that someone had used to access a personal web account. It really made me think and since then I've never connected to a  free and open public wifi spot. blush


    I'd love to be able to find the video again as it really opened my eyes and as I said before, I'd like to share the video with others too.


    However, if anyone comes across or knows of another filmed lecture either by the IET or from another source (YouTube or TED talk etc) please feel free to share it here either by sharing the link in this discussion or by uploading or embedding it into the video gallery in this community 


    Thanks again for any assistance! 


    Lisa
Children
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