Cleveland: Wi-Fi hacking easier than most realize

CLEVELAND -- We think nothing of surfing the web while enjoying our latte at the coffee shop, hotel or airport as we connect to the internet over a wireless connection rather than a cable.

But security experts like Christopher Edwards can easily prove just how dangerous public Wi-Fi can be.

In a few minutes, Edwards was able to hack into the computer of an unsuspecting mother who was cruising the web over coffee. Chris walked over with his laptop displaying the exact web page the customer was viewing.

"Is this the web site you're on?" asked Edwards. The woman looked up and said, "The fact that he can get on my computer, and me not know it? That's scary!"

In Cleveland Heights, medical student Jeffrey Uchin uses his laptop to get free Wi-Fi at the restaurant Liquid Planet.

Uchin said, "When it comes to that kind of computer hacking, I don't know how to protect against that. I just hope no one is doing that to me."

On the fifth floor of the Peter B. Lewis Building on the campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, computer science students sat down with Adjunct Professor Nicholas Berente for a special lab class.

Berente said, "We all know the dangers of Wi-Fi in here. But I think people need to understand that they can slow down the bad guys from getting in."

After discussing the problem with students Omri Shiv, Matt Briancon, Nikhio Srinivasan, Brian Seeders and James Gaskin, the group came up with 4 key suggestions.

1. Update your computer's operating software to get the latest security patches.

2. Update all your password codes

3. Install firewall software on your system

4. Use network security called WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access). WPA2 was created by the Wi-Fi Alliance to secure wireless computer networks.This protocol was created in response to several serious weaknesses researchers had found in the previous system, WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy).

5. Limit your outside Wi-Fi usage to surfing. Never enter any personal data or access sites that require your password.

Graduate student James Kaskin said, "I would not go to Starbucks and check my bank account. Never. That's stupid."

Tom Mitchell was using his laptop at Liquid Planet. "It seems every week we hear of huge corporations that get hacked and they have sophisticated computer systems," he said.

Mitchell added, "if they can't do it, how am I supposed to protect my little laptop and my data? So you do the best you can, but in the end you never know." When it comes to using Wi-Fi, it seems a little paranoia is a smart thing.