Wi-Fi Eavsdropping Continues, Security Measures Too Complex
A couple of recent stories highlight the problem of poor security among average PC users, especially when coupled with widely available Wi-Fi. One is based on a consumer survey, the other quotes testimony of security specialists. The bottom line: a large number of average users who don't understand how to employ basic security measures are finding growing opportunities to leak confidential information over public Wi-Fi services.
Speaking of public Wi-Fi, one specialist noted in the Boston Globe's site:
"It's extremely convenient, but it's inherently insecure," Harvard's Jay Tumas told state government information technology specialists at a National Conference of State Legislatures session on Wi-Fi risks. "If you don't protect your network, then public Wi-Fi is just one big security risk."
The speaker went on to advise against wireless, saying one should avoid
wireless access for most uses "unless you absolutely have to," and not using wireless at all to transmit sensitive data.
A survey by Consumer Reports, reported in SC Magazine, found:
Of the 2,000 people surveyed, 38 percent said they were affected by a computer virus in the past two years, while 34 percent said their computers were infected with spyware in the past six months. About 1.8 million households replaced their PCs during the past two years due to virus or spyware infections — including 850,000 in the past six months — according to the survey.
The study also found home-users lacking in sufficient anti-virus protection. Seventeen percent of respondents had no anti-malware software installed, and 33 percent didn’t use anti-spyware software. An estimated 3.7 million home users with broadband have no firewall installed, according to Consumer Reports.
These results are consistent with a Jupiter Research Report quoted in the Boston Globe story:
A survey last year by JupiterResearch found that 40 percent of consumers either hadn't activated the security on their Wi-Fi networks or weren't sure if they had. More than half of respondents said they thought their Internet firewalls were sufficient, and many others pointed to setup difficulties.
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