Wireless

Companies are leaving their wireless networks exposed to hackers because of widespread failure to understand or implement 802.11x security systems, a survey has claimed.

The study commissioned security vendor nCipher revealed less than half of firms plan to introduce the technology in the next two years. It comes as another blow to producers of 802.1x equipment, following Forrester research in March which showed the technology is more costly to implement than originally thought.

We’re a little wary of Inside Bay Area’s decidedly alarmist article titled “Hackers prey on unguarded wireless links,” which goes the distance in furthering the meme propagating that hijacked WiFi = super duper bad and teh ev1l hax0rs will come to get j00. But what’s more egregious are the claims made by Lt.

What with country singer Lee Greenwood's recorded rendition of patriot songs like "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah" and "God Bless America" playing over the sound system at 8:30 a.m. in the Commerce Department auditorium in Washington, D.C., one could have been excused for thinking the July 20 conference: "Pharmers and Spimmers, Hackers and Bluejackers: Combating Wireless Security Threats" was taking place during a national emergency. Far from it.

Invisible wireless signals course through a growing number of Utah County businesses, campuses, public buildings and neighborhoods.

In areas like Barnes and Noble bookstore in Orem and the Provo City Library, visitors are invited to access wireless "hot spots" free of charge.
But the arrest of a Florida man earlier this month raises the question of whether a Utahn who uses a neighbor's wireless signal without permission is breaking the law.

That soap opera cliché, the Evil Twin, is alive and well--and perhaps hanging out an Internet café near you. In the past few months, reports have emerged of Evil Twin attacks (also called "wi-phishing") targeting wireless network users at public hotspots. This week, I'll explain how Evil Twin attacks work and how you can defend yourself against these--and other--Wi-Fi security threats. Unlike wired networks, wireless networks broadcast data over radio waves, which can be easily intercepted. By its very nature, then, a wireless Internet connection is less secure than a wired one.

The University of California at Irvine is developing a certificate program focusing on radio frequency identification, or RFID -- the electronic identification technology that's so en vogue at the moment in computer circles.

Students of the university's extension program may be able to enroll in the courses as soon as the winter quarter of 2006, according to Stefano Stefan, assistant director of business, management, legal and IT programs for the school's continuing education series.

Skype International SA and Boingo Wireless announced a partnership Tuesday that will allow users to access Skype's VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) technology from 18,000 Wi-Fi hot spots worldwide. Available in coffee shops, book stores and hotels, as well as other public places, Skype Zones powered by Boingo are geared not only toward business travelers and students but also toward any wireless user in search of cheap international calling, Skype spokesperson Kelly Larabee said.

I love the fact that more and more devices are sporting built-in Wi-Fi—the Sony PSP, smartphones, even Kodak’s EasyShare-One digital camera. The lone hitch: Wi-Fi is useless without a hotspot. Sure, thousands of spots are available, but few are free, and coverage is far from ubiquitous. What if you could marry the short-range power of Wi-Fi with the huge coverage areas of high-speed cellular services such as EV-DO to create a portable hotspot? You could use any Wi-Fi-enabled gadget anywhere you’ve got a cell signal.

Sean Savage wants to hook you up by tearing you away from the internet.

It is thought that the technology could be of interest to telcos or Internet operators with no radio spectrum because it can be used to start a wireless broadband service with very few base stations and add more stations and increase density as demand rises, said Reuters. XG Technology has introduced a new communications tool called xMax that "whispers" on busy radio channels and could reportedly enable broadband Internet services for wireless devices or connect homes that are not yet able to utilize fast Web access.