Risks with wireless networks

George OU at ZD Net makes a point well worth considering about wireless hotspots.

"As ubiquitous and convenient as Wireless LAN Hotspots are, it is probably the single most dangerous technology to the mobile computer user"

He's right on the money. I've often wondered how many crooks have set up a honeypot of a free wireless access point to steal users data or passwords.

Another similar risk that's disturbed me for a while is how vulnerable many access points are. George illustrates this with the Wall of Sheep at the Defcon convention. For a competent but crooked tech it's easy to pick passwords up off a wireless network.

This is also a risk if you have unsecured wireless network, once someone is on it they can sniff out your usernames and passwords.

It's important to take care when you are using a wireless network. Like everything else on the internet; if you don't know them, don't trust them.