Warning: Facebook Packet Sniffer

[V_R]

Just a quick word of warning for the paranoid people in the world and you that use public wifi alot!

A new app for a rooted android phone has been released that make it easy for even small children to capture your FB login detail has been released. There are methods for enabling more security feature on your FB account and I would recommend enabling them now more than ever.

Source: http://www.redmondpie.com/faceniff-...ter-and-youtube-accounts-from-android-phones/

FaceNiff is a new Android App that makes it literally effortless to log into someone else’s Facebook account, if that person is on the same Wi-Fi network. Yes, any Wi-Fi network.

This application works by capturing all the packets that are sent back and forth inside the network. While the application itself won’t break into Facebook, it will wait for a legitimate user to login, then it will intercept the data and display the user’s login ID. By simply clicking on it, an ill-intentioned user would be able to log in and take over the account. In addition to Facebook, this application supports Twitter, YouTube, Amazon and Nasza-Klasa, a Polish micro-blogging platform.

 

[Ian]

Scary stuff! I don't connect to a public wifi unless I'm abroad and need to get an internet connection - but I bought a person VPN package to keep things fairly secure. When were on honeymoon, I saw loads of fake WiFi hotspots at airports and hotels - plus some hotel networks were of the type where data could be sniffed.

Good idea to post a heads up about this, as now that an app is available there are going to be even more people doing it!

 

[V_R]

Must admit i dont use public wifi very often, usually i have a decent 3G signal.

Out of interest, how easy is it to spot a fake hotspot? Is it as blatant as i'd expect?

 

[Ian]

The ones I have come across have really suspect names like "Free Public Wifi" or similar, in a place where the only wifi should be provided by the hotel. Upon connecting, it seems to be a hotspot provided by a laptop - which isn't a likely scenario for benign usage.

Like you, I've usually got 3G access in the UK so it's not too much of a problem - but when I'm abroad I'm very cautious as hotels seem to be ripe for this sort of thing.