Browsing Facebook & Twitter on the road? Don’t get hacked.

by Grant Martin on

Unsecured wireless networks have always been a danger for traveling technophiles — the data that we transfer through open spaces can always be intercepted and decrypted by wandering spies, including bank accounts, passwords and heaps of other sensitive information. That’s why most people refrain from logging into private websites while in public places.

With the proliferation of social media in today’s mainstream culture, however, many are concerned about the privacy of those accounts in public places. It used to be that the relative difficulty of hacking a Facebook account versus a bank account meant that most people felt safe using social media at a neighborhood cafe. Why spend the time changing someone’s online status versus stealing their money?

Now, however, sites like Facebook and Twitter are encoded with such simple technology that web developers can write apps to steal random social media passwords — all inside of a simple web browser. This means that any old person with Windows XP and Firefox can boot up their browser, turn on an application and start poaching Facebook data. Five minutes after sitting down with your tall non-fat latte you might find yourself with a new fancy status message, group of friends and password to boot.

You can read the full details of the technology (and even try it out!) over at codebutler.

The only solution? Don’t log into social media when browsing on an untrusted, unsecure network. Will that stop anyone? Probably not. It probably won’t happen to you, but don’t say that Gadling didn’t warn you when your Facebook profile turns to mush.

Anti-wi-fi paint will make it harder to scam free Internet

by Sean McLachlan on

The days of scamming free wireless Internet may soon be over.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a paint that blocks wifi signals. So if a room is painted with this stuff, only computers inside the room would be able to pick up a wireless signal originating there. At a projected cost of £10 ($16) a kilo, the paint would be a cheap way of keeping hackers and moochers from using your wireless to download dodgy files.

The paint is infused with an aluminum-iron oxide that blocks all radio signals at 100Ghz, the frequency at which wifi transmits.

As ingenious as this sounds, there are a couple of downsides. First, it won’t protect the user from online threats, and of more importance to travelers, it will stop people from scamming free Internet while on the go. In Madrid I can go to my local park, pop open my laptop, and surf the Internet on somebody else’s euro. I can do this in many other European capitals too. With all the new costs being added to airline tickets, it would be a shame if this travel freebie were to disappear.

Perhaps we should tell the nice folks at the University of Tokyo “thanks but no thanks”? Anybody know how to say that in Japanese?

Day in the Cloud goes live at 30,000 feet

by Mike Barish on

Earlier in the month, we told you about Virgin America and Google’s Day in the Cloud Event. And yesterday, I let you know that I would be on board one of the competing flights to take part in the event at 30,000 feet. And that’s exactly where I was this morning as I answered trivia questions, solved puzzles and joined thousands of people on Virgin America flights and on the ground competing to win tons of great prizes. I even tweeted for Gadling during the flight. So, what happens when technology, puzzles and flying intersect? Organized chaos and lots of fun.

I was on flight 921 from LAX to SFO. A competing flight from SFO to LAX was attempting to beat the best score on our flight. But there was one glitch: there were log-in issues when it came time to connect to the gogo in-flight wifi. It seems that there may have been problems with the company that handles the billing for the internet service. So, when a plane-load of people attempted to log into the system simultaneously, a Day in the Cloud became, temporarily, a day at the “still loading” screen.

Eventually, most of the issues were worked out. They even found the bandwidth for Good Day LA to broadcast live on the flight. Reporter Suzanne Marques covered the event and you may even spot me when you watch her segment (Hint: I’m wearing a Gadling t-shirt).

Google created the game and put together a tough contest. I was seated next to professional puzzle designer and competitor Wei-Hwa Huang, who was invited to take the challenge. He seemed to have a much easier time solving the puzzles and finding the answers in Google Apps than I did. His mental gymnastics and fast fingers resulted in the highest score of anyone on the two competing flights, which meant that everyone on Flight 921 walked away with prizes.

What can we learn from the Day in the Cloud? Well, in-flight wifi is here to stay, but, there are still some kinks to work out. For one, gogo sets the pricing for the airlines but they are considering lowering the costs to entice more users. Right now, many people find it too expensive. Also, the 3G network, while reliable, is still glitchy at times, especially if there is a rush of people logging in. However, I was impressed with the overall speed and reliability of the system once things settled down a bit and I’d defiitely utilize the service in the future.

The Day in the Cloud contest is running all day today, so you can still compete at home, in the office or on a Virgin America flight. Remember, though, that when the captain puts on the Fasten Seatbelt sign, that you need to return to your seat, buckle up and put your thinking cap on. My bad jokes, like wifi on Virgin America flights today, are free.

Daily deal – Dell Inspiron Mini 9 for $99 with 2 year AT&T data plan

by Scott Carmichael on

Well, that was fast. Remember when I posted my predictions in tech for 2009? One of my entries was “subsidized notebooks with combined data plans”.

We are just 11 days into the new year, and Dell has already made me look good by making one of my predictions come true. As of today, you can order a Dell Inspiron Mini 9 for just $99 if you purchase it along with a 2 year AT&T mobile broadband subscription.

Your $99 will get you a very small computer, just over 2lbs, with built in wireless Internet access on the AT&T3G network (where available).

The Inspiron Mini 9 is a 1.6GHz Intel Atom powered Netbook with 512MB of memory and an 8GB SSD drive. The base version offered in this deal does not come with a webcam, and once you configure the machine with more memory, a larger SSD drive and Bluetooth, the final price comes to about $185. Still, a hot deal, as it includes an integrated AT&T 3G modem card tucked away inside the machine.

The easiest way to describe the deal is that you can order the Mini 9 from the Dell website, and as long as you activate the AT&T 3G modem, you are eligible for a $350 mail in rebate.

The AT&T 3G service costs $59.99 a month, and you have to activate it within 4 weeks of receiving the laptop. The mail in rebate period expires on February 12th.

If you’d prefer a similar deal, but with a slighly different computer, check out the Acer Aspire One at your local Radio Shack. The Aspire One has 1GB of memory and a 160GB hard drive. The base price of this machine is $449, but just like with this Dell deal, you can purchase it in store for $99 when you commit to a 2 year AT&T data plan.

RovAir.com: Single day wireless card rentals

by Justin Glow on

How do you connect to the Internet when traveling?

If I’m abroad, I’m at the mercy of the hostel or hotel I’m staying at. If their connection is shaky or non-existent, I don’t get online without finding a cafe. When traveling domestically here in the U.S., I use my Blackberry as a phone-as-modem (via USB) which offers decent speeds in metropolitan areas. Even in the sticks it works well enough to check email and browse the web. But it’s expensive — there’s no way I use it enough to justify the cost. But the convenience outweighed the high price, so I signed my data plan contract and use it when I’m on the road.

But that was before I knew about RovAir.com. Billed as the “business traveler’s best friend,” RovAir offers single-day data card rentals starting at $5.95 per day. Once you sign up for an account, they overnight the card to you. You plug it into your laptop (via USB), and off you go. Our friend Christopher Elliott had a chance to test it out on a trip to New Orleans. Here’s what he had to say:

“In terms of performance, the card worked flawlessly every time and offered a lighting-fast connection. I Skyped my family using video, and there were no noticeable delays. One of the things I really liked about the card is that it worked anywhere – in the hotel, the cab to the airport, at the airport. Really, anywhere I could open my laptop, I could connect.”

Read his entire review here.

I really wish I would have known about this service before signing my data contract with Sprint. I could have saved a bundle of money.

RovAir.com