According to the article anyone who uses WIFI is in breach, however Innovatios has decided at this point not to pursue individuals.

Innovatios

You probably do too – just how safe is it?
It was safer prior to October 2010, when a little piece of software called Firesheep became available. Firesheep allows someone to effectively look over your shoulder and see what you are doing on the Internet, and then use that connection themselves. It has currently been downloaded over 1 million times.

 
Here’s some advice: Don’t do anything confidential at a public WIFI hotspot.
This would include such things as banking, logging into your webmail account, government website logins, or any new sign-ups that ask for personal information. You might also add Facebook, LinkedIn and other websites where you store personal and/or company information – especially if you happen to use the same username/password combination for all these websites, as many do.

I’m highlighting Starbucks here, since it is probably the most common, but any public WIFI spot counts; McDonalds, Public Library, even your home WIFI if it is unprotected and you live in an apartment. (I can see about 35 WIFI connections from my home and still some that are unprotected)

What CAN you do on the Starbucks WIFI?

How much risk you take is up to you however you should be safe browsing news, and general web surfing. Have a cup of joe and catch the latest news or sports scores.

Easy Protection

Here’s the best solution if you need to do something confidential at a public location. If you have one, connect to your corporate VPN and do all your activity through that. Hackers can’t get through VPN traffic.

Can you tell if you’re being snooped?

Unfortunately no, unless you have some specialized software and some tech savvy.

Stopping in for coffee or tea at your local spot and firing up you browser is so convenient that we’re not going to stop doing it. Always remember though that you’re in a public spot – and act accordingly.

Have you ever had suspicion of being snooped upon?

Activesync(tm) allows you to synchronize your Email, Calendar, and Contacts with your business email account in real-time. Any changes made on your iPhone or iPod Touch will be reflected in your Outlook immediately, and all new mail will automatically arrive on your iPhone (and your Touch if you have WiFi connectivity).

Here’s a quick how-to guide to setting up Activesync on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Requirements:

• Microsoft Exchange 2003 with Service Pack 2, or Exchange 2007
• iPhone software version 2.1 or later
• Ports 80 and 443 forwarded through the router/firewall to the Exchange Server
• If you’re using SSL, you need a SSL Certificate from a registered provider (your SSL cannot be self-signed)

Note: This setup will NOT work with the standard email account you got from your Internet Provider, or Gmail, or other POP3 type account. You MUST have a Microsoft Exchange Server. (Instructions for standard emails)

How to test for Activesync:

If you’re not sure you have Activesync and want to find out if your server is setup for Activesync, browse to your mail web page as follows:

• In Internet Explorer, browse to http://mail.myserver.com/oma – you of course, substitute your server name, just keep the “/oma” at the end.
• Enter your login credentials
• Say “yes” to the security warning about your device being unsupported, if you get one, and then you should see a page like this.

If you don’t see that page, or get an error, then you need to talk to your IT support person (or call us at 604-715-5107).

How to set up Activesync

Start by tapping Settings, Mail Contacts Calendars, Add Account, choose Microsoft Exchange.

Here’s Apple’s Quick Setup Guide that walks you through the setup on your iPhone or iPod Touch. If the Activesync test (above) worked then this will be an easy configuration. If you’re not using an SSL connection, say Yes to the SSL prompt, and when finished you must go back into the mail account on your device and, at the bottom, turn of SSL. (this will get rid of the annoying popups)

If you get errors or it just won’t sync, then there are all kinds of possibilities:

• Apple’s Enterprise Support page
• Check that your SSL Certificate is not self-signed
• Confirm you have connectivity
• Use Safari to test for Activesync (as shown above) on the iPhone or iPod Touch
• Check your spelling in the account setup – especially your password

Activesync Management for Enterprises

Here’s Apple’s Iphone Configuration Utility for Windows. I didn’t have enough users to make it worthwhile using this but it looks like it would help in a larger corporate environment.

Other articles in our Apple_Windows series:

• How to use Time Capsule with a Windows PC
• Easter to Hack Apple than Windows
• How to setup Activesync on your iPhone or iPod Touch
• How to use AppleTV with Windows

Foreverwarm Consulting Inc provides peace of mind to small businesses through prompt computer support and proactive network maintenance.

FOREVERWARM CONSULTING INC
Call: 604-715-5107