Lets say someone invented the “Free ATM” where you just walk up to a machine in the middle of a parking lot somewhere, enter your social security number, hit the big green button and you get $20. Limited one-per-person of course. There would be alot of speculation, disbelief, and of course people would be worried about security… Sure, it’s a free $20 bill… but it’s just out there, in the open, couldn’t someone rob me? What about my SSN? Where’s that going to go and what will it be used for?

Now, think about free WiFi access… You go to a public place somewhere, willingly throw your laptop with all your important and perhaps confidential information out onto this wireless network. Furthermore, you login to your email, bank account, or even put in your credit card numbers at shopping sites – all without thinking twice about who else could be eavesdropping.

Now, hopefully your bank and the sites you shop online at use some form of SSL certificates to encrypt the data which makes it a little safer. Most of the popular web-based email services will encrypt the login pages to help protect your password, but thats not the point… Most people don’t think twice before powering on, connecting up, and logging in.

It’s one thing for there to be someone else in the crowd of co-surfers at your favorite java hotspot who may be trying to snoop on your surfing habits, but what if the hotspot itself is doing the snooping – able to catch and log everyone’s traffic for later review and abuse?

You trust Joe at Joe’s Java to be providing a simple, free, useful service to his clients, and doubt he has the technical knowhow to do anything malicious if he wanted to… but what about Sam, the guy who lives in the apartment complex next door with an antenna pointed out his window at the coffee sippers on the patio and a wireless network that looks confusingly similar to the one provided by Joe’s Java.

With a high-power wireless access point and the right conditions, some caffine junkies (or just your average busy person) may be in to much of a rush to check their precious emails (or myspace account) to notice they are connecting to someone elses service. Others may not know the difference or just not care, as long as they get to their favorite website or instant messenger.

Security experts have been warning for a long time about public internet access, and even more so about wireless internet access. The media is slowly picking up on the few instances where someone really loses a lot as a result of poor computer security, but how can you expect most people to catch these low-key backpage news stories when there are people out there right now who don’t know whats going on in current events.

If you’re reading this, I’m most likely preaching to the choir… but at least I’m doing my part to get the word out and spreading the knowledge and concern. What you do with this information is up to you, but my hope is that you would take a few precautions if dealing with any sensative information while out on the internet.