Tagged: wireless security

Canadian Transit Systems to Get Free WiFi

You would think Canadians would be a little wary of using public WiFi after a spy agency was accused of using airport WiFi networks to track travelers. But Canadian cities are rapidly installing free public WiFi on their transit systems, including three Metro Vancouver buses that began offering free WiFi earlier this month. Keep reading to find out where else this convenience is expanding (and how to protect your online privacy!).

Are Phone Calls Over WiFi Hotspots Safe from Hackers?

You might have heard that the new iPhone 6 supports making phone calls over WiFi networks. Using WiFi networks to make calls is the next big thing for mobile phones.

But how safe is it to make phone calls using public WiFi hotspots? Are your calls being encrypted? And should you take any steps to protect yourself from WiFi hackers? Read on to find out more.

Will WiFi Replace Cable and Fiber Networks?

In a recent blog post, we mentioned that the next generation of WiFi technology will be much faster, and that by 2018, worldwide WiFi traffic will overtake wired traffic for the first time ever.

Now see how one Silicon Valley company plans to bring high-speed WiFi networks to underdeveloped parts of the U.S. as well as developing countries.

OpenSignal’s U.S. WiFi Study Looks at Speed, But Not Network Security

OpenSignal is a small startup with a very interesting mission: they are creating a database of WiFi access points around the world and are hoping to become the global authority on wireless networks. Their website contains analysis of all of the data they have collected, including the WiFi signal strength of all access points in a given area.

How do they do it?

Twitter Chat on Back-to-School Identity Protection

PRIVATE WiFi and the Identity Theft Resource Center will be hosting a Twitter chat on Thursday, September 4, at 2pm ET, to discuss the hidden dangers and the ways to prevent a personal data breach of your kids’ information. Keep reading to learn some of the most commonly asked questions about children’s identity security, and of course, please join us Thursday to answer any questions you may have.

One of NYC’s Free WiFi Providers Goes Kaput

Is New York City’s free WiFi program in trouble?

A research group known as Gotham City Research claims that Gowex, one of the five organizations that former New York City Mayor Bloomberg had chosen to provide free WiFi service in the city’s five boroughs, cooked their books and vastly overstated its earnings. Based on this report, Gowex filed for bankruptcy.

Nothing Safe about Library WiFi Networks

It’s back-to-school season, and if you like to surf the Internet while at the library (or even file your taxes), remember that nearly all library WiFi networks are completely open. This means that anything you do online at the library could potentially be seen and intercepted by another person on the same network.

Keep reading for essential tips to protect you (and your children) on any library’s WiFi network.

Will the FCC’s $2 Billion Plan for School WiFi Create More Problems Than It Solves?

WiFi in schools has been happening with much enthusiasm all over the country. So recent news that the Federal Communications Commission will spend $2 billion to boost wireless Internet connectivity in U.S. schools and libraries during the next two years should be a good thing, right?

While FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has called it a “watershed moment” to give wireless access to 10 million kids, give or take, privacy experts are raising a collective eyebrow.

Zone Alarm Highlights the Risks of Public WiFi

A shocking two thirds of us (64%) have little or no concern about connection to public WiFi networks, despite the fact that everything we do on these networks can be viewed and stolen by others. Check out a study by Zone Alarm, which highlights three of the biggest risks on public WiFi: man-in-the-middle attacks, rogue WiFi networks, and packet sniffers.