Posts Tagged ‘wi-fi tracking’

Mike Kershaw recently presented at the Black Hat security conference about the dangers associated with the use of public Wi-Fi networks (’free’ networks you find in coffee shops, for example). Specifically, he outlined how attackers can “poison” browser caches in order to present fake webpages or to steal data, even at a future date.

“Open networks have no client protection,” said Kershaw, who also uses the handle Dragorn. “Nothing stops us from spoofing the [wireless access point] and talking directly to the client,” the user’s Wi-Fi-enabled device.

Wi-Fi poses a danger to any user connected to it. That user puts his data at risk in so doing. Therefore, whether you’re at a cafe with your personal laptop or corporate laptop, it’s important to consider the risks associated with connecting to Wi-Fi networks. Sometimes it’s simply not worth the risk. There are alternatives to Wi-Fi that regular travellers, or coffee-shop workers, should consider.

For more on Wi-Fi security, read these past posts on our blog:

- Alternatives to Wi-Fi for Business Travelers
- Tips for Laptops and International Travel
- 12 Steps to Secure your Small Business Wi-Fi Network
- Hotel Network Security

Via network world

Absolute Software announced today that its customers can now use Google Maps, GPS and Wi-Fi to visually track their computers!

Absolute has added Wi-Fi geolocation tracking to its Computrace line of anti-theft and management products. Customers can now use Google Maps to see where their computers are in either GPS or in Wi-Fi triangulation information sent back from the laptops. IT managers can track all their computing assets on a single worldwide map.

Here’s a comparison of the service, the top with GPS capability and the bottom with both GPS and Wi-Fi capability:

This new capability makes recovery efforts more successful for Absolute Software which, in turn, reduces the loss and exposure that are the result of a data breach associated with lost computers.

“When used effectively, this intuitive tool can help them mitigate losses by enabling simple and timely identification of when an asset may have moved to unauthorized locations.” – John Livingston, CEO of Absolute Software

Since Wi-Fi is built into most laptop computers this becomes an efficient means of tracking computers. Computrace now uses all commercially-available tracking methodologies: IP tracing, global positioning system tracking and now Wi-Fi tracking.