Your Daily Computer Security Tips

Today we are going to look at two important issues that you need to be aware of as you surf the Web: security for your wireless network, and URL shortening. Many wireless setups use the WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption standard to secure the network against intruders and hackers.

But just recently, two researchers have reported that they can partially crack or penetrate WPA. They succeeded in reading data being sent from a router to a computer, but not the other way around. They could, however, send false information to another computer connected to the router.

The newer standard called WPA2 is not thought to be vulnerable to this attack. Check your router to see which one you are using. If you are using WPA, look in your router manual or on the manufacturer’s Web site. You may be able to move to WPA2. If not, consider getting a new router soon.

And if you are still using the ancient, original WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) standard, you have no protection at all. WEP can be cracked in a few minutes, using commonly available tools. Get a new router pronto, that is certified for WPA2. The computers on your network may need updates or new network adaptors to use WPA2.

While you’ve got that manual out, it is a good time to review your wireless security setup. Make sure you are not using the default factory settings on your router. These make it easy to set up the network, but provide little or no security.

If you are installing WPA2, look for a setting called something like WPA-PSK (pre-shared key). Make your passphrase at least 15 – 20 characters long, and include symbols and numbers. Do not use any words.

A big problem for surfers on the Web is disguised or shortened URLs. You see a URL you want to click, but you can’t tell where it will lead because it has been cut down by those popular URL shortening utilities such as tinyurl.com or shorturl.com.

These services are great for reducing long URLs and making them easier to remember. In particular, affiliate marketers love them because they shorten and hide an otherwise long, clumsy address.

But not seeing where you are going on the information superhighway can be dangerous, as on the real highway. You could easily land at a phishing site, or at a site that will infect your PC with a virus or Trojan, or launch an attack of some sort.

Well, help is coming for this problem. Some services like tinyurl are offering previews. You can see where the URL really goes, before clicking on it. You have to enable it on each computer and for every URL-shortening service you use, but it’s a start.

Next time you see one of these short URLs, go to the service’s Web page and look for a link to enable previews. Some other services are leeturl.com and snipurl.com.

There is a Firefox extension called PreviewLink which allows you to, well, preview links from many of these URL-shortening utilities. It is still experimental, so I cannot recommend it just yet. However, if you are an advanced user, you can give it a try. Learn more here: http://previewlink.org/ Use caution when clicking on any unknown or suspicious links such as in a spam email, or on a Web site that may not be trustworthy.

Syd Tash is a longtime computer security consultant, author, and founder of
The SaferSurfing Project. He has been keeping Web surfers like you safe and secure since the last century. Find out how to keep yourself safe online and do your part for a more secure Internet. Join the SaferSurfing Project here
=> http://SaferSurfingProject.com

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