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Summary: In some instances, it might be possible for hackers to see data going to and from one's computer. Sometimes it matters, but sometimes it doesn't.
Yes. But most of the time it doesn't matter. On the other hand, there are times when you really need to be careful. • Data traveling on a network such as the internet can be seen by many other machines. Local machines connected via a hub, for example, all see the data being sent to and from all the other machines connected to the same hub. As the data travels the internet, it's quite possible that other machines on the network can also see the data. Sounds scary. The good news is that's really hard find data transmitted to and from a specific machine unless you're on the same network segment. For example if you're connected to the internet via DSL, other machines sharing your DSL could watch your traffic, but machines out on the internet would have an extremely difficult time tracking it down. It's not something I worry about much. However, there is a scenario that you should be very aware of. Wireless network access points operate much like a hub. Any wireless adapter in range can see all of the network traffic in the area. Visited any wireless hotspots lately? Anyone in the coffee shop, library, other public places, or even just outside on the street or a nearby building could be sniffing your traffic. So, what to do? Well, for one thing, make sure that any sensitive web surfing you might choose to do - such as banking or on-line shopping - is always done via a secure connection. Even better - wait until you're home to do those things. Email is particularly sensitive. For example it's not difficult to sniff your email account information when downloading email via a normal POP3 account, or sending via SMTP. Web interfaces that use "https" secure connections are actually safer. And if your wireless network at home is within range of other houses, the street, or other public areas, make sure you're at least using 128bit WEP to ensure that the data that would be visible is encrypted. Related:
Article 2666 | Posted February 24, 2005 |
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I notice you say use SSL but I find for instance when I use yahoo, hotmail and even Gmail only the sign in page is secure, when I navigate away from this page, I see that my information is no longer secure, so I was wondering is it safer if I use Outlook express that I see has an option to encrypt messages I am sending, and is the message going to be encrypted all the way until it reaches the sender?
Posted by: Maria Edwards at November 13, 2007 3:05 PM-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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Actually GMail stays in secure mode if you go to it in secure mode.
https://mail.google.com
Encrypting a message is different, and requires that your recipient have the
ability to decrypt it.
Leo
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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at November 14, 2007 7:43 PMygKs7BVx1jE9m73074mpmns=
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can someone hack my computer and then send emails with IP address of my computer? In other words, can someone use my IP address from a distant computer after hacking my system?
Posted by: Dr. Mitu at April 25, 2008 11:24 PM-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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That's exactly what bots do - send email from your machine. Basically if your
machine is infected or hacked, all bets are off - they can do anything.
Leo
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Posted by: Leo at April 27, 2008 12:16 PM5tY3ReTgcb478Uqe8APedq8=
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I have been talking to who I thought was a friend for the past 2 months and then he popped up and said that he wasnt really that person. He was just using his screen name and myspace. But this guy has been sending me my friends pics and information about his work in the military. Is that possible to really be able to have acess to someones whole computer like that?
Posted by: Sheena at July 9, 2008 7:11 AM-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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Absolutely. If your (real) friend was careless and somehow
let his account information be stolen, this kind of thing
could easily happen. And it does.
That's why people like me keep harping on keeping your
computer secure, choosing good passwords, and all the other
habits we should develop to stay safe.
Leo
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Posted by: Leo at July 9, 2008 1:38 PMbdEUwNYI3ies3G3qQ/SI48M=
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Hi Leo,
Posted by: Antonio Liriano at August 27, 2008 4:32 PMI recieved an e-mail where I was selling something on online (Craiglist). By stupid of my part (sorry for the word)I gave the person my address and name. After I did that I noticed that it was an Scam. What the person can do with my name and address?
thank you for your advise.
Tony
Can someone hack into my computer and put a screensaver on my computer?
Posted by: Alice at September 10, 2008 4:22 PMDoes a police officer or police dept. have access to hack into someone's computer?
-Leo
Posted by: Alice at September 10, 2008 5:12 PM
Me and my roommate are sharing the wireless internet connection(secured WPA- personal).Can my room mate see what I am doing on the internet like I use Skype to talk to my girlfrn,so can he see what we are talking about and can he see the skype video too.If he can,how can I secure it from my roommate.
Posted by: John Cooper at September 23, 2008 1:27 PM