The Risks of a Wireless Web

CNN has up a good story on the risks of using wireless hotspots out in the wild. Whenever you use an unsecured 802.11b/g (a.k.a. Airport for the Mac-Heads out there) hotspot, you risk exposing personal data. Especially if you bring up banking or credit card sites.

Rushing was able to log onto an unsecured hotel wireless signal in a matter of seconds. To illustrate how vulnerable such networks can be, Rushing then sent an e-mail and intercepted the entire contents of the message. He could've done the same thing to any of the dozens of people sitting nearby in the park.
"At any point in time, I can reach out and touch everyone's laptop at the hot spot, and there's usually not any way of preventing that -- from me touching and looking at other people's stuff at the hot spot itself," Rushing said.
He also demonstrated a growing concern called "evil twins" -- fake wireless hot spots that look like the real thing.

I am reasonably confident that all of my uses of hotspots have been secure - I only use our home unit, Mom's home unit, and secured hotspots at hotels and the like. But it is a reminder never to simply trust an open hotspot. You never know when that piece of cheese is just bait for a trap.