Another scare store

Noobie_2

LincsLad,

Thanks for your reply.  Happily, I can give a (fairly) short answer!

But first – you’ve educated me twice today (nearly…..) what’s FUD?  Another techie term that I need to learn??

I think we may have, in some areas at least, similar views on the media *in general*.  However, as far as I recall, I’ve only quoted from sources such as the BBC, the Telegraph or, maybe, the Guardian.  [OR, respected and, as far as I'm aware, 'genuine' sites such as Eric L Howes, Spyware Warrior, etc.]

These are well established and well respected news agencies.  Their reporting is accepted to be both informed and professional.   Their news may not be as up-to-the-minute as CW but, as not so many folk outside of IT read CW, etc, it may well be the first time many people have seen it.  

As to panic, well, I guess it just depends how people react to the ‘news’.  Some may panic, some might not give a sh*t and go back to watching the footie, or whatever.  Hence, sometimes the ‘news’ needs to be repeated and I don’t have a problem with that.  What I dislike are companies who inflate (or even create) the problems to sell their products.

What I’d like to do is encourage people to take an interest in the security of their pc’s.  And that’s not entirely altruistic, either.  Malware creators and distributors can only operate because they are – in actual effect - ‘allowed’ to.  If all pc’s were secure (ha, ha, ha, ha), they’d be out of business.  The fewer unsecure pc’s out there, the fewer malware creators and distributors out there, the safer my pc is / my kids are.  (Edit):  And the more money I save.

I'd like to think we're both aiming for the same goal, just maybe playing from different positions on the pitch.

Noobie

(and hey, I wanna wear no. 7 shirt - in RED!)
(Edit):  Can I wear no. 7 in defence?

Noobie_2

Oh yeah, an' I'd like to have Beckham on me back.  Victoria Beckham.

LincsLad_3

Nope, FUD = Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. The term has been around for 20-30 years.

I was going to continue the response here, but i think that PM is a better place for it as the diatribe is probably getting boring for others (as indeed, it is for me. )

Joe_Bloggs

Surveys of wireless access points can be done with a wireless capable laptop. From this and many other surveys, upto 70% of users do not activate in built security features. See the Tom's Hardware Guide article here.
J_B.

VH

This isn't actually just a scare story but the truth.

If you have a wireless network and you do not turn on basic security features such as encryption, it is extremely easy to gain access to that network. And yes, it can be done from outside in the street.

I have a wireless network, and can pick up its signal in the street outside while sitting in the car. If it wasn't protected then anyone with a bit of IT knowledge could get access.

But if you turn on security features then you have very little to worry about.

A number of mobile phones are vunerable to having their data stolen via a laptop. Very easy to do and the software available to do it costs nothing.

Noobie_2

As has been pointed out to me (elsewhere), I misspelt the title - not only did I mean to spell it correctly, I also meant to put a '?' after it - but whether it's a 'scare story' or not, it 'scares' me - the lengths hackers will go to (aircraft!!) amazes me.

Seems there's still a lot of people unaware of the (very real) 'dangers'.