Here in Pakistan(especially) and generally all over the world, people crave free Internet and get online anywhere anytime on anyone’s machine or network when they are offered free Internet. This applies to those free Wifi stalkers as well, who just roam around with their laptops looking for a free Wifi network, I just want to say this to these people YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER.
I for one, am paranoid about my belongings and my presence on the web and I try my best not to login from any computer but mine I don’t even use the Internet from my Institute’s computers, cause if I start here telling you what can be done and what could have been done with your credentials which you just gave away when using someone else’s network or computer to access the Internet you would wish you had an UNDO button. If you are using a NON-ENCRYPTED connection to a website, all information which flows to and fro between you and the website is open for anyone in-between the link to intercept and store without your knowledge.
Most sites out there don’t offer Encrypted connection or don’t offer it as default, so your info is at RISK, by encrypted connection, I mean SSL (SSL=Secure Socket Layer), to check if a site is using SSL or not, look for an ‘s’ after the http in the address bar of the browser you are using;
https://www.google.com
or look for a little LOCK (actually a pad-lock) icon in the status bar of the browser.
Almost all BIG sites offer SSL, google made it default on Gmail and just recently has launched an Encrypted Search Engine, which you can access from here; https://www.google.com, but most other sites don’t offer SSL as default cause it takes up more resources at their end, increasing their expenses, but they do provide a link to an SSL version of their site usually as Use Enhanced Security or Advanced Security or even SSL etc…
I have been using SSL since I learned myself how to SNOOP on a network and how to sniff out useful information from the packets going through the wire, recently I removed the password from my Wifi Router and I was shocked to see so many people using it and opening all types of sites and I was able to get the login credentials of many, though I deleted those and didn’t used them…. cause like Google I also say Do NO Evil, or your Evil will return back to you….
If you have got any questions or are confused then just put in the comments, I am thinking of writing a FOLLOW-UP post soon….
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