Comcast was found to sniff packets on its network to determine the optimal location to insert ads into all the web pages its users view. Packet sniffers, better known as sniffers, are almost like a dog sniffing information that runs through a network. They allow hackers to sniff data packets from public and private networks. The closest comparison to spying in the «real world» of pop culture is when a police detective taps a phone line to intercept a call and classified information. A dozen other countries are also known to conduct mass surveillance on the Internet. Any monitoring of the Internet would require some form of packet collection and analysis. Starbucks is rolling out free, unsecured Wi-Fi access to approximately 7,000 coffee shops across the U.S. starting July 1. But will there be a sniff of packages with your latte? There are many forms of networks and the most common of all is TCP/IP. This acronym stands for Transmission Control Protocol over Internet Protocol, which simply means that the network sends TCP packets to destination computers through IP addresses. The critical part of this description are the packets of words. Contrary to what our eyes tell us, things like websites and emails don`t travel the internet.
They are broken down into small data packets on the sending side and reassembled into their original format on the receiver side. As these data packets travel over the Internet, they are vulnerable to eavesdropping and even change. This technique is colloquially called packet sniffing and is performed by ISPs, governments, advertising companies, and bad guys. In this article, we will see how to protect yourself from sniffing packaging. There is a group of people who take the position that they don`t care about being watched on the internet because «I have nothing to hide.» Frankly, this shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem. Parcel inhalation is carried out by bad guys who try to do as much damage as law enforcement. Since there`s no way to set up a data packet for law enforcement to read, but not the bad guys, there`s no other conclusion that we all have something to hide. The bad guys still don`t have anything good in mind. Many of them are skilled and able to use a variety of methods to steal information from you.
Phishing remains the number one method used by bad guys to gain access to information such as credentials and financial data. However, phishing doesn`t just target one type of information. An ordinary citizen can be phished for their credit card information, which the bad guy can then sell for a profit. On the other hand, a system administrator at a bank can be a phish for their credentials. The villain can then hide in the bank`s internal network, snoop on packages and collect financial data on all of the bank`s customers. Many insidious and deeply penetrating attacks start with a simple phishing email. The packet captures above show that VPN connections offer the most comprehensive protection. Your traffic is fully encrypted, and if you make sure your DNS queries also go through your VPN, your destinations won`t be able to be drifted. It`s worth noting that you should continue to use HTTPS even if you`re using a VPN. This is because an HTTPS encrypted payload can only be decrypted by the target web server or by your own browser. A VPN provider must decrypt the VPN encryption it added to the packet, but it cannot decrypt the HTTPS packet itself, which means your VPN provider can only collect metadata.
Innovatio intercepts Wi-Fi communications using a Riverbed AirPcap Nx packet capture adapter, available for $698.00. A simpler packet capture adapter is available for only $198.00. The software needed to analyze the data collected by packet capture adapters is available as a free download. With a packet capture adapter and software, as well as a simple laptop, any member of the public within range of an unencrypted Wi-Fi network can begin intercepting communications sent over that network.