Just in case you haven’t heard/seen the news on the internet, a basic exploit has been discovered in the Wifi architecture, and that exploit has been hacked. That means potentially everything that uses wifi to communicate is vulnerable.
And that includes:
- computers via their router
- smartphones
- tablets
- Amazon’s Alexa [I think]
- and even cars
Apparently Windows based computers should already be updated against this exploit, although how Microsoft managed to find out so quickly is a worry. However, that is only the computer operating system itself. The router also handles things like internet banking and I have no idea how secure that is now.
Android and Linux are both vulnerable. I believe Apple is too.
As most people these days have wifi routers [the box with the flickering lights that sits between your computer and the internet], I would strongly recommend checking with your ISP* about when you can expect a security update for the router. ISPs are your service providers – e.g. Telstra, Optus etc. Until you get one, I would keep internet transactions dealing with money to an absolute minimum.
Actually, you might consider going around with wads of cash for a while. No seriously.
Oh, and don’t use the free wifi in your local shopping centre because such locales are plenty big enough to make them worthwhile for hacking.**
If any of my techie friends has info to share I’d really appreciate it.
cheers
Meeks
* When you sign up with an ISP, they usually provide you with a router [for a fee] so the ISP should provide info. on updating the router.
** Although this hack is universal, it is constrained by the hacker’s need to be physically within reach of the wifi he/she wants to hack. So home wifi is not that ‘worthwhile’, but a large shopping centre probably would be.
October 23rd, 2017 at 7:29 pm
Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 23rd, 2017 at 8:18 pm
Danke 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
October 23rd, 2017 at 8:28 pm
Hallo, Ihnen besten Dank für die wertvollen Informationen, und beste Wünsche für die Woche! LG 😉 Michael
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 23rd, 2017 at 8:31 pm
Um…that’s all the German I know. 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 18th, 2017 at 2:22 am
This seems to be becoming the norm. Ugh. I don’t know if there really is a way to protect our information. We’re all going to have to get insurance. It feels like a conspiracy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 18th, 2017 at 9:37 am
Ouch…you do realise that would make a brilliant plot for a story? Then again, Orwell could never have imagined what 1984 really turned out to be. Disco craze instead of Big Brother? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 18th, 2017 at 10:49 am
Ha ha ha. Orwell was just off by a hundred years.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 18th, 2017 at 8:58 pm
Pfffft…not a problem. 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
October 17th, 2017 at 6:29 pm
Thanks Andrea. I looked this up in the Guardian and retweeted with a link to their article. Advice currently seems to be quite basic; update your router regularly, only use https padlocked sites for sensitive stuff; cable if possible and keep away from large, free wifi when away from home.
Pretty much what I do anyway, though it has been a while since I checked the router firmware. x
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 17th, 2017 at 9:07 pm
Yeah, that seems to be it. Tried getting through to my ISP today but there was a 50 minute wait? -rolls eyes-
I’ll try again tomorrow.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 17th, 2017 at 3:14 pm
Thanks for your timely warning.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 17th, 2017 at 9:07 pm
Not a problem 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 17th, 2017 at 2:55 pm
Thanks for the heads up, Meeks. It is another reason to be very cautious on the internet.
BTW…..I have been out of things for a little while, so sorry if I should have seen this but….are the hard copies of your book available yet? Your sidebar link only takes me to the ebook copies.
LikeLike
October 17th, 2017 at 9:07 pm
Soon. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 17th, 2017 at 1:23 pm
I hadn’t heard this. Starting to want to go back to the 80s.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 17th, 2017 at 9:08 pm
And disco music? Nevaaaaaaaah. 😀
LikeLiked by 3 people
October 17th, 2017 at 11:05 pm
I thought disco was 70s. I remember Michael Jackson and Bananarama from the 80s. Still, I suppose it is a big step back. *sigh* If these hackers could apply themselves to useful endeavors, think how much better off all of mankind would be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 18th, 2017 at 9:40 am
Oops, you’re right, Saturday Night Fever was 1977. Having lived through it all you’d think I could remember. Instead, for me the 70’s were all about Supertramp and the Eurythmics.
Anyway….I guess the internet is the new frontier and it’s more exciting to be a black hat than a white hat. 😦
LikeLiked by 2 people