packet sniffers

[mojolicous]

if you are really worried grab a cheap server from lowendbox, and use it as a vpn exit point, if you want to be really paranoid run tor on it too and use a firefox portable instance on your desktop to access it ;-)

[SamBell]

 

Connecting via WPA2 would probably be safer than connecting via the wired connection. with a decent password WPA2 is very difficult to hack.

IIRC you should be using CCMP rather than TKIP. If the key exchange of TKIP is intercepted then I think the key can be calculated.

But if people are worried about wireless keys then they need to think about letting so many middlemen into their computing. By default Google likely has all your wireless details, SSIDs and keys, plus the geographical location of it if you use anything Android. Apple and MS likely just have keys, but it isn't like they don't have the money to build databases.

The problem is that consumption appliances like phones are configured by default to back up data to corporate computers, and there are hand-holding features for when they make you to buy a new device. The systems that underpin device migration, at the least, have to have keys in plain text for them to be imported into the new device.

Google war drive when they do street view, and so gather WLAN details with GPS data. Cross reference those SSIDs with data from phones/tablets and they have the credentials for most wireless LANs.

And that is why I run 2 WLANs, one for machines where the user is in control, and one for shitty infected pieces of turd where publisher are put before users. I change the turds' network key after any machine has finished using it.

Much easier for any authority to collect your browsing habits data in the uk, recent uk legislation requires ISP's to record what sites you visit but not specific content, am guessing said authorities would be more interested in potential terrorist activity and online fraud as opposed to people sharing gardening tips.

The nature of computers is that terrorism/nonce crime detection will be trivial to automate, or will be automatic by its very design. Then with career aspirations, electoral aspirations, business aspirations, etc. that automation will be moved to people trafficking. Then fraud. Then on line violent threats. On line illegal dealing, IP infringement.... supporting the wrong politics?

It is best now to not be logged at all, because if the scope of these tools use increases then things could come back to haunt people.

[Gimps]

I'm not going to lie, I was hoping for something more exciting considering the title of this thread.

[tokestoy]

FYI you can sign up to Amazon AWS and run a micro instance free for about a year.

You can use that as a VPN server.

It's pretty unlikely anyone is spying on your connection.

WPA2 (WiFi encryption) can be broken, but it would take someone who has the time and knowledge to do it.

We're not talking about 5 minutes either, more like hours or possibly even days.

Even if they did, browsing a drugs forum isn't illegal (yet... Theresa May.. am looking at you)