Public Wi-Fi safe on OSX?

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corkurkcorkurk
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
As "free wireless hotspots" seem to keep popping up all over the place, I'm wondering how safe some of these networks are. I've seen a few articles related to this on the web, but none of them have been directly related to OSX.



I generally do anything related to banking at work or home, but while I'm hanging out at the local coffee shop, I do want to check my e-mail, surf a little bit, ect. ect.



Anyone have any info or good links about this with regards to OSX - or are all Operating Systems going to generally behave the same way in dealing with wi-fi hotspots? Anything that I can download or install to keep myself safe?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    gwoodpeckergwoodpecker Posts: 367member
    If you're concerned about security, enable the firewall in the "system preferences" --> "sharing" preference. Usually, this is not even necessary because OS X blocks all ingoing (malice) traffic -- if no server services (like file sharing, ftp and the like) are turned on in the "sharing" control panel.



    So in short: e-mail and web-browsing are very safe using a Mac.
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  • Reply 2 of 6
    corkurkcorkurk Posts: 90member
    Thanks for the info.



    So it sounds like the security features built into OSX would keep anyone from looking at the files on my hard drive over an open Wi-Fi network. Makes me feel a little better. However, I've also read about the so called "packet sniffers" that sound like the basically grab the data going to and from the computer. Is this a legitimate threat, or more of a "proof of concept" type hack? Anything I need to worry about? Can the people at the table next to me really just grab my viewing history, passwords, ect. out of the air on it's way to the wireless router, or am I way off base?
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  • Reply 3 of 6
    areseearesee Posts: 776member
    You're not off base. Packet sniffers are real and can be used by anyone that can access the traffic between the web sites and your computer. Wired or wireless. Now I won't say that the internet is tubes, but I will liken it to the post office. The messages (packets) to and from you are open post cards and can be read by anyone. Stay away from any sites or services that have unencrypted passwords. Though you should be ok with secure sites (you tell them by the https protocol).
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  • Reply 4 of 6
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Corkurk View Post


    Thanks for the info.

    So it sounds like the security features built into OSX would keep anyone from looking at the files on my hard drive over an open Wi-Fi network. Makes me feel a little better. However, I've also read about the so called "packet sniffers" that sound like the basically grab the data going to and from the computer. Is this a legitimate threat, or more of a "proof of concept" type hack? Anything I need to worry about? Can the people at the table next to me really just grab my viewing history, passwords, ect. out of the air on it's way to the wireless router, or am I way off base?



    Yes, OSX and Macs are in general very very secure. Make sure you use Software Update to have the latest updates, and turn your Firewall on in Preferences > Sharing as mentioned above.



    PC or Mac or Linux or whatever, when communicating in unencrypted 802.11b/g space, packet sniffing is possible. As poster above suggested, you can feel a bit more secure with https connections if you are doing banking, etc. Generally email and surfing the web is okay.



    Otherwise do your banking at home over a encrypted wireless or just a wired network.



    It's about risk management. Don't get too paranoid, but certainly, let's learn to manage the risks. Using Mac OSX is a start. If you have Windows running in virtual machine in OSX, be sure to have antivirus and firewall set up for all that stuff if connecting in open WiFi through Windows virtual machine.
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  • Reply 5 of 6
    corkurkcorkurk Posts: 90member
    I've got the firewall turned on in OSX and I'm feeling at least a little more informed about the whole thing.



    I'm not trying to be too paranoid about it, but I also don't wan't to be caught off guard.



    Thanks again.
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  • Reply 6 of 6
    decemberdecember Posts: 62member
    Don't worry, nobody will be able to see the data on your hard drive any more than over a wired connection to the internet; and since you are using OS X, that means not at all.



    But:

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Corkurk View Post


    However, I've also read about the so called "packet sniffers" that sound like they basically grab the data going to and from the computer.




    Yes. The data wirelessly travelling from and to your computer, and only that data, can be intercepted; since a free, unencrypted access point is, well, unencrypted. That means, with the appropriate software, others can see what you are doing; unless the website itself is encrypted, which you can tell by its URL beginning with "https://"; and a small lock icon displayed in the upper right corner of the Safari window. In that case, even over an unencrypted connection, the data itself is encrypted and can not be seen by others.



    So as long as you make sure that the website is encrypted, you don't need to worry about sending passwords or even logging into your bank account.
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