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The Chronicle had a story this weekend about Houston's coming municipal Wi-Fi network: The network, which will be built and operated by EarthLink, will have the latest security features when it's completed in 2009 — but it'll be up to users to download and install security software to make sure they're protected. But will they? That's the question we'll have to wait for an answer to, especially where it concerns people who haven't really used the Internet before. "You have to educate people about what the threats are," Wi-Fi expert Craig Settles said. "You can educate them and educate them, and you hope it sticks."
When everything's working as it should, a citywide wireless network should be as secure as a smaller DSL or cable network — but that's still pretty theoretical, since there aren't too many municipal wireless networks fully up and running right now. And because many security measures are built into cable and DSL networks, wireless network users might not realize that they need to take the responsibility of installing them for themselves. "It really can be a concern," Richard Rushing, security chief at network security advising firm AirDefense, said. The software EarthLink will provide for subscribers to the city wireless network will protect against spyware and phishing, and access to the service will be password protected and encrypted. If users don't install the security software, they could open themselves up to hackers accessing their accounts and reading personal e-mail or getting credit card information.
We're sure the city will do what it can to convince people that the security measures are necessary, and we'd like to think people will listen and install the software. But we know some people won't, and we have the feeling that it won't be very long before someone gets his or her personal information lifted and blames the city — and it'll be interesting to see how that goes down. "It's a matter of personal responsibility," Karen Hanley, a spokeswoman for the Wi-Fi Allilance, told the Chronicle. "The seat belts are in your car, but you have to put them on for them to work."
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I used to be an Earthlink subscriber, and I found their security software to be rather intrusive. I'm not sure if this is referring to different software, but I would recommend anyone signing up for some of the more powerful stuff offered by McAfee or Norton. It's going to be more expensive, but it's a whole helluva lot easier and generally leaves you alone while you're out there.
Since phishing and spyware have absolutely nothing to do with the network you're using (and everything to do with the buggy OS, on any network), I'm pretty happy that there's no bonehead attempt to enforce installation of any particular software.
In contrast, WPA (Wifi Protected Access) does protect users from most kinds of attacks from other users, and the network will implement that standard, and users won't have to install anything to make it work.
So the Chronicle article is a bit uninformed and misleading. No-one would want mandatory "phishing and spyware" protection. It wouldn't work anyway and it would force users into using software they may not need, may not want, and might actually harm their systems. Not to mention that a significant portion of the computing community (Mac users, Linux users, and anyone with a dual-mode phone or WiFi-enabled mobile device) would probably be unable to even use said software (and would have no need of it).