Is it safe to get wireless from unsecure network?

Question

My laptop is getting wireless access from an unsecure network (probably an upstairs neighbor) and I have a dumb question - the person who you are "sharing" the unsecure network with, can they somehow view your personal information, passwords, etc? I know shared files can be viewed by others if they know what they are doing, but I am just talking about passwords to online bank accounts, and personal information.

Answer 1

yes with router logs you can track websites you have been on but thats about it + it is highley unlikely that the person is smart enough to know how to do so but all password storage is done locally so no they can not gain access to your bank account

Answer 2

It is risky to browse sensitive websites on an unsecured network.  Unless the website itself uses a secure connection (https:// - Look for the padlock in the status bar) then your password will be transmitted plain-text for a 30 metre radius around you, for anyone with a free tool like WireShark to "sniff" and potentially steal.

The person you are stealing the connection from would also have the ability to "see" all unsecure pages you look at and find the URL of ALL pages (including secure ones), quite easily, using freely available software - And in the UK at least would have grounds to report you to the police for unauthorised access to a computer system.

Answer 3

yes but only is they have a certain software which can have the history, but that software is about $100 which i dont think most people have