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Bruce Schneier Wants You To Steal His Wi-Fi
Security worries of an open hotspot are overblown...
Well-known security expert Bruce Schneier pens a piece for Wired News saying that he runs an open Wi-Fi hotspot at home (no access password, no encryption). He then runs through the traditional list of reasons why you should lock down access at home (child pornographers parked in your driveway, the RIAA suing you for your neighbor's piracy), and insists that the risks aren't all that great. He goes on to make this simple point:
quote:
I'm also unmoved by those who say I'm putting my own data at risk, because hackers might park in front of my house, log on to my open network and eavesdrop on my internet traffic or break into my computers. This is true, but my computers are much more at risk when I use them on wireless networks in airports, coffee shops and other public places. If I configure my computer to be secure regardless of the network it's on, then it simply doesn't matter. And if my computer isn't secure on a public network, securing my own network isn't going to reduce my risk very much.
Of course if you've got a neighbor who's using your connection to trade film torrents 24/7, or if you just don't want those dirty techno-hippies using your connection, keeping your access point locked down is probably your best bet.

Most recommended from 52 comments


B04
Premium Member
join:2000-10-28

3 recommendations

B04

Premium Member

So Misguided

Bruce is an amazing security talent but sometimes his general public writing is misplaced.

For starters, he makes a false assumption that other people are just like him and use all their computers OUTSIDE the home or office, at public hotspots no less.

Most people I encounter NEVER move their computers out of their homes, usually because... they're running desktop PCs!

Further, his assumption that other people, those NOT security professionals, can "secure" their computers for both public WiFi and local network use is rather amazing. It's as if botnets never existed. As if everyone already had properly configured routers and updated OSes.

He tarnishes his reputation with these pieces, in my opinion.

-- B

P.S. WPA is "new"?

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

2 recommendations

pnh102

Premium Member

Security Idiot

quote:
Well-known security expert Bruce Schneier pens a piece for Wired News saying that he runs an open Wi-Fi hotspot at home (no access password, no encryption).
Sorry, calling someone who advocates this sort of thing a "security expert" is like calling Britney Spears an expert at good parenting.

Running open wifi by choice is beyond stupid. This idea needs to be smashed into people's minds. Anyone who advocates otherwise, especially someone proclaimed to be a "security expert" by some, is doing the world a huge disservice.