by Fenz

Created on: April 24, 2008

With the prevalence of world wide web (www) and technological advancements, you can never be certain of the other party who you are emailing or instant messaging to is whom he or she claims to be. Likewise, you can never be certain that there is another you in the virtue world too. A new crime - Internet Identity theft is being committed in every day, every minute or every second in today's world.

Your personal data may be leaked, stolen and misused by others without your knowledge. There may be another person resuming your identity to interact or even to commit frauds or crimes without your knowledge. So how can you protect your personal data to stay online since this has become vital in your life or work? More importantly, how do you protect your personal data while using a wireless internet (Wi-Fi) network?

Firstly, let us understand what are Wi-Fi stands for and the reasons for its popularity? From Wikipedia, Wi-Fi is the common name for a popular wireless technology used in home networks, mobile phones, video games and more. Wi-Fi is supported by nearly every modern personal computer operating system and most advanced game consoles. The main reason for its popularity are its usability allows LAN's(Local Area Networks) to be deployed without cabling for client devices, typically reducing the costs of network deployment and expansion. Another reason is that it penetrates spaces where cables cannot be run, such as outdoor areas and historical buildings, and thus allows hosting of wireless LANs. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wifi)
If you are surfing the web using a personal computer or notebook at home, it is highly recommended that you configure your wireless router properly to encode all wireless transmissions with Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or industrial-strength Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) personal encryption. In simple words, setup a secure Wi-Fi network. i.e. use of password to protect your Wi-Fi network. Any unencrypted (open) Wi-Fi networks can easily be monitored and used to read and copy data (including personal information) transmitted over the network.

Alternatively, if you do not have administration right or access to configure the wireless network, especially when you are in public places, you can adopt another security method Virtual Private Networking (VPN) application. From Wikipedia, a virtual private network (VPN) is a communications network tunneled through another network, and dedicated for a specific network. One common application is secure communications through the public Internet, but a VPN need not have explicit security features, such as authentication or content encryption. There are various VPN applications made available for downloads and installations onto your Personal Computers, Laptops, SmartPhones or PocketPC at www.download.com.

Lastly, you should always turn on your firewall in your personal computers or laptops. Firewall acts as filter that controls the network traffic in and out of your computer by monitoring applications that connect to the network. In addition, firewall can also stop malicious applications such as Trojans, hackers, backdoors, and keyloggers from stealing your personal data and damaging your computer. This is a free application provided along with your purchase of Windows system or MAC system. Do not waste this application. Use it.

Though it may seem to be a hassle to adopt the mentioned methods, however, it is essential steps to protect your personal data and yourself.

Always Stay on Secure Networks, Protect your Personal Data.

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