It seems that more and more people are talking about this, which can only mean more and more people are falling victim to this scheme. If you are ever at an airport and you find some hotspot with an SSID of ‘free wifi’ or something similar, you probably shouldn’t connect to it. These ‘free’ hotspots are actually things called man-in-the-middle attacks where users can intercept all of the information you pass on the Internet. The article below not only talks about this, but it also discusses how it works.

The next time you’re at an airport looking for a wireless hot spot, and you see one called “Free Wi-Fi” or a similar name, beware — you may end up being victimized by the latest hot-spot scam hitting airports across the country.

You could end up being the target of a “man in the middle” attack, in which a hacker is able to steal the information you send over the Internet, including usernames and passwords. And you could also have your files and identity stolen, end up with a spyware-infested PC and have your PC turned into a spam-spewing zombie. The attack could even leave your laptop open to hackers every time you turn it on, by allowing anyone to connect to it without your knowledge.

If you’re a Windows Vista user, you’re especially susceptible to this attack because of the difficulty in identifying it when using Vista. In this article, you’ll learn how the attack works and how to keep yourself safe from it if you use Windows XP or Vista.[more]

Tags: Identity Theft, Wireless Security