When you're connected to the Internet at a hotspot, a lot of the data being
transmitted to and from your computer is being broadcast in the clear. Not all
of it, to be sure, but a good portion of it. With enough patience, the right
equipment, and the right software, a hacker can intercept and read that data
and information. You can be sure that if someone goes to those lengths,
they're not likely to act in your best interests if they gather some valuable
personal information.
If you're connected via the Internet to a secure Web site, whether from your
home or a hotspot, the data being transmitted is secure from prying eyes. It's
true, the data and the information are zipping through the air, but not as an
open transmission. It's garbled and unintelligible because of encryption. You
can know that you're on a secure Web site by the little gold lock icon that
appears in the URL address window and in the lower right corner of your
Web browser. Also, the first part of the Web address is https, which, by the
way, stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, Secure.
What's a VPN?
A VPN is a securely encrypted link for data traveling over the Internet. It's
encrypted by the sender and decrypted by the receiver with specialized VPN
software. This works really well when one end is a corporate network and the
other end is a business traveler. And I hear you saying, That's great if you're
connecting to a company network over the Internet, but what if I just want to
connect to the Internet? Even if I encrypt my outbound traffic, the Web site
I'm connecting to won't be running any kind of decryption program.
Well, you're right. But there's a way to take advantage of this technology,
even if you just want to connect to the Internet. Several companies are now
set up in such a way that you can connect to them under the protection of a
VPN. With that secure connection between you and them, they (in turn) con-
nect you to the Internet.
In geek-speak, you're connecting securely, via the Internet, to a proxy server
that's connected to the Internet. When you make a request for a Web page,
that request travels over an encrypted link to the proxy server. That server,
acting on your behalf as a proxy, decrypts your request and resends it over a
wired Internet connection to the Web server hosting the requested Web page.
The Web server, by request, serves up the page, sends it to the proxy server
that then encrypts the page, and resends it to your laptop. The VPN client on
your laptop decrypts the page, and you can then view it on your screen.
As you might guess, this all takes a little bit more time than simply connect-
ing to the Internet directly. The slowdown with 128-bit encryption is barely
noticeable, but you might not want to use a connection like this for playing
games. If, however, you're sending e-mails that include personal information
or you're surfing the Net, a service like this can be invaluable.
Part IV: Securing Your Information
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