Well, I installed Firesheep in just a matter of a few minutes. I learned that you must have WinPcap installed before it will work. Also, you must have the latest Firefox update or it will not install. Once installed you open a side panel and click "Start Capture" and you will begin to capture Facebook, GMail and many other sites belonging to the people who are logged onto the same open network. This is really simple and scary at the same time. Just by sitting at a coffee shop or anywhere that has an open wifi connection, a person can obtain dozens of accounts and info. Someone can change all of your FB photos, read all of your messages and post updates as if they were you!
There is a simple fix that must be done by the owner of the network hotspot. By simply enabling the WEP encryption and just giving all of the patrons the password, Firesheep will be rendered useless. If your personal home network is open, do yourself a huge favor and at the very least, enable WEP, but preferably WPA2 encryption. If you have any questions about setting up your router to ensure that you are protected, email me at thecommongeek@gmx.com
Brought to you by Dennis Keefe, The Common Geek
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