Airports, schools and hotels might want to look closer at the wireless Internet networks they have been installing as a convenience for the must-stay-connected crowd. A new program called AirSnort, released on the Internet this week, lets enterprising hackers easily grab . . .
Airports, schools and hotels might want to look closer at the wireless Internet networks they have been installing as a convenience for the must-stay-connected crowd. A new program called AirSnort, released on the Internet this week, lets enterprising hackers easily grab passwords and other sensitive data as they are transmitted through the air - unless certain precautions are taken.

"There's going to be some major events that will occur, some takedowns, things like that," said Les Owens, a Vienna, Va.-based expert on wireless security. "I would be cautious (on a wireless network in a public place), a lot more cautious than I would be at home."

Because wireless networks broadcast signals over the public airwaves like radios and cell phones, security experts have known for a long time that they are vulnerable to snoops.

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