Could that someone interfere with my laptop? Thanks in advance. Become a Patron of Ask Leo! A range extender is essentially a little device that connects to an existing WiFi hotspot and makes a proxy or repeats the signal. Essentially, it acts like another WiFi hotspot.
I have a range extender myself. Occasionally, the travel trailer turns into a nice little recording studio for Answercasts. So, I installed a range extender in the barn. Whether this is bad or not depends on your situation. In some ways, your open hotspot is like sitting in a Starbucks — accessible to anyone in range. On the other hand, for a long time I had all of my WiFi hotspots completely open because nobody could get close enough to connect where I live. This is a case where I would definitely be concerned.
Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week. One thing I found on both the wireless router and the range extender was an option to be able to log onto the router using the same credentials as my main router. Perhaps what is happening in this case is that his computer is logging on to the extender with the credentials of the main router and is just seems like there is no need for a password.
Questioner might want to verify the connection between his computer and the extender. Having to hard wire a range extender defeats the purpose of the convenience. I would think that by the time 5G comes along, the small size of a security chip might make it possible to add forms of cybersecurity not yet invented or providing common usage.
Many routers and range extenders insist that you are connected via ethernet cable to access settings. Once the settings have been made or changed, an ethernet cable is no longer necessary. I bought a linksy re wifi extender and it was setup using my home networks password. My dad sees this as a security risk so he disconnected the wifi until we figure out the situation.
Protecting Yourself : Select the Public network option when connecting to public Wi-Fi , keep your computer up to date, and leave a firewall enabled. Most dangerously, the hotspot you connect to itself may be malicious.
The question is more complicated than it appears. For example, sslstrip can transparently hijack HTTP connections. This can happen transparently, allowing a malicious Wi-Fi hotspot to perform a man-in-the-middle attack and intercept secure banking traffic.
The WiFi Pineapple is an easy-to-use device that would allow attackers to easily set up such attacks. The device is then built with a variety of man-in-the-middle and other attacks it can easily perform.
As a bonus, a VPN will allow you to bypass any filtering and website-blocking in place on the public Wi-Fi network, allowing you to browse whatever you want. Image Credit: Jeff Kovacs on Flickr.
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This is a good time to head to a cafe to chill for a bit with a coffee and pastry. It is also perfect for some web surfing using the free Wi-Fi service. The next thing you would need to know is the Wi-Fi access point i.
Now you are all set and connect to the Internet. For the average user this is fine, but for cybersecurity experts there is a risk to using free Wi-Fi services. The findings should be a red flag to all users. While some hotspots are secure, many are actually not.
Public hotspots may allow users to connect without a password for convenience, but that can also compromise the security of the users. They allow anyone to access their configuration settings using a web browser without a secure connection. This is very troubling as it can expose users to dangers like data theft. A honeypot is a type of technique used to lure users for malicious intents.
To the user it appears legitimate from the outside, but a hacker is operating it on the inside. Honeypots are implemented using both hardware and software, with Wi-Fi hotspots being popular among hackers. Anyone can put up a device as a Wi-Fi access point. You can use a smartphone as a free hotspot by enabling it in settings.
In fact, many mobile workers use this feature on their smartphones to provide their laptops access to the Internet using their telecom providers 4G LTE network. That provides fast Internet access on the road, where there might not be public Wi-Fi available.
Bad actors can provide a free hotspot using this feature as a honeypot. Most users will fall for a honeypot because it is free. The honeypot will often use the name of the establishment's hotspot or the most likely name people would assume. When users search for available Wi-Fi networks on their devices and see the name, they will often just connect. This is not a very good practice, but this is how the average user connects to a hotspot.
The red flag may not be obvious to some users, but those who recognize it will be better off not connecting. Someone might think they got lucky connecting to a hotspot without a password. That was actually by design in order to lure in as many users as possible. Once a user connects, they are at the mercy of whoever setup the hotspot. The bad actor can filter user traffic, allowing them to intercept personal information.
This can be bad if the user connected was conducting a transaction with a credit card number or transmitting their social security number.
One of the most infamous honeypot implementations is called the Wi-Fi Pineapple.
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