What are the risks of using a campus wireless connection?
If you do not use WPA encryption, transmissions and traffic can be detected (sniffed) by an intruder while “in the air” (i.e., to and from your computer and the access point). However, even without WPA, the wireless authentication login page will be encrypted. Even if you use WPA encryption or the campus VPN, always use caution when surfing or conducting financial transactions over the Internet. Look for signs that the website pages offering online purchases or asking for personal information are secure. At the point that you are providing user IDs, passwords, confidential and/or payment information, the beginning of the website address should be https://, indicating that the information is being encrypted. Your browser may also signal that the information is secure with a symbol, such as a broken key that becomes whole or a padlock that closes.
