Shhh… Microsoft's Wi-Fi Sense Can Make You the 'Hotspot'

Check out The Daily Dot article below:


Windows 10 can share your Wi-Fi password with your Facebook friends

By Mike Wehner
Jul 3, 2015, 12:28pm CT

If you’ve been using the internet for any considerable amount of time you already know that your password is really never absolutely secure. From hacking incidents to other security breaches, it’s impossible to know that your secret code is indeed always secret, and now Microsoft’s soon to be released Windows 10 is making one of your passwords even less secure by gifting it to your Facebook friends.

Microsoft’s Wi-Fi Sense feature—already in operation on Windows Phones and coming to Windows 10 upon its debut later this year—is aimed at making it easier to share your connection with your friends. To that end, it allows users to effortlessly use each other’s Wi-Fi connections by allowing them to use your password.

The password itself is encrypted and shared automatically once you opt-in, and the list of people who can use it includes your Outlook mail contacts, Skype contacts, and even your Facebook friends.

The idea here is that if you’re at a friends house and you both have Wi-Fi Sense, you can join their network without having to ask for their password. Ideally, such a system will save you from using your wireless data plan as much as possible, thereby saving you a few bucks.

However, there are likely plenty of people on your Facebook or email contact lists that you wouldn’t want browsing from your own internet connection, and that’s where the potential for trouble comes in. Not surprisingly, Microsoft’s own FAQ about Wi-Fi Sense is filled with warnings about connecting to unfamiliar hotspots, as well as sharing your connection with those you don’t trust.

The documentation also notes that you cannot pick and choose individual contacts with which to share your connection. Instead, you’ll only be able to toggle huge groups on or off, like everyone from your Skype list or your entire Facebook friends roster. So, if you don’t trust absolutely everyone you know on Facebook, Skype, or Outlook, it’s probably a good idea to leave this would-be handy little feature unused.

Shhh… How to Beat the CIA and Protect Your Data

Business travel is a nightmare these days, especially when one visits a country known for high espionage/ corporate espionage activities or active government eavesdropping and wiretapping.

So what if you need to transmit confidential data, sensitive business information and trade secrets via emails or the cloud? Or simply access your online banking account?

Public wifi pose significant risks. The Internet connection in your hotel room is not any better. And you can forget the Internet cafe.

No worries, there’s a solution and I will soon be posting a column on this matter. Watch this space.