We live in a city where 80 to 90% of wireless hotspots we find in cafes are open and free. Some would require a password to log in to but it is freely given if you ask nicely. This makes our city one of the most open wireless cities in the world.
But this openness is a security nightmare waiting to explode. One particular issue is when you are on an open hotspot and if you are not mindful about security on your Mac, you are inviting other people to browse, open and even copy your files.
Christopher Breen of Playlist magazine tells his story regarding this issue he encounters during his travels. According to Breen, his favorite past time when on the road is to look at other people's iTunes playlists when he is on a public network. He's found out that most people who use iTunes are probably not aware that they are sharing their playlists.
Another security hole most of us aren't aware of is other people can browse your files in your Public Folder through iDisk.
Turn off the iTunes sharing feature in the iTunes preferences menu if you don't want anyone seeing your playlists. Another tip is not to put any file in your Public folder that you don't want other people to see. I'll have more post about how to make your Mac more secure in the near future.
Protected: [insert witty Pink Floyd and cheeseburger reference here]
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14 years ago
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