Sidejacking: What It is and How to Protect Yourself

We all know what carjacking is. Sidejacking is when an identity thief spies on your Internet session while you use your laptop at a public, unsecured WiFi connection to the Internet, or "hotspot." Common hotspot locations are airports, coffee shops, hotels, and some downtown city locations.

So, if you use your laptop at public hotspots, this CNN video is a must-see. Colburn suggests the following to protect yourself:

• Don't use a public hotspot if you don't have to
• If you must use hotspots, surf the web but don't sign in to secure sites (e.g., bank accounts, e-mail, etc.)
• If you use hotspots frequently, consider installing a hotspot shield on your laptop

I have not used the product from Anchorfree.com, nor do I have any relationship with Anchorfree.com or with CNN. So I cannot provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the Anchorfree.com software. If you have used this or another brand of wireless VPN software, please share your experience below in the comments section. As with any other software purchase, check the software specifications to make sure it runs on your laptop. Shop around and research Anchorfree.com before a purchase.

Want to learn more about sidejacking? You can start reading here.

Comments

[Greg]

Still wondering (windows tools (hamster) requires promisc mode), what wireless cards (atheros/etc) can you use without having to invest in expensive $300 adapters to test this. Some wireless cards atheros can run in this mode but only using software (airopeek drivers) but then I'd think you would need to be running their s/w as well for compatibility. What am I missing here?

[George]

Greg:

Thanks for the comment. I don't know the answer to your question. Maybe another reader will answer it. Since I don't travel often, my solution for public WiFi hotspots: I just surf the web and don't access web sites with bank or financial accounts, and don't login to web sites. When and if I travel more often, then I'll invest in a VPN solution.