Beware of on property free WiFi

[disneygirl1024]

Last night my boyfriend had discovered that his laptop was hacked into. He can only assume that it was because of the wifi that is open and everyone can see everyone's connections. If you are using this service, beware that people on vacations here at WDW are not being very honest and breaking into the backdoor of the computers and possibly stealing your information. It does say a warning stating that it's possible that other people can view you information. Really? I didn't think to the point where people would hack in just to get your information. I will be using my secure hotspot thank you very much. It's pretty bad when you go on vacation and you have to deal with this.

 

[afar28]

Wow, I'm so sorry. That's horrible! I used the free wifi last vacation for the first time. Besides the fact of it being mind numbingly slow at first, it wasn't horrible.
Is everything ok now? Was anything major stolen?

 

[dannyboyindc]

Last night my boyfriend had discovered that his laptop was hacked into. He can only assume that it was because of the wifi that is open and everyone can see everyone's connections. If you are using this service, beware that people on vacations here at WDW are not being very honest and breaking into the backdoor of the computers and possibly stealing your information. It does say a warning stating that it's possible that other people can view you information. Really? I didn't think to the point where people would hack in just to get your information. I will be using my secure hotspot thank you very much. It's pretty bad when you go on vacation and you have to deal with this.

Sorry to hear that, I'm sure it scared the crap out of both of you! Be aware that ANY open and unsecure connection has the same potential (secure too if the hacker knows what they're doing). That goes for WDW, your local Starbucks, or the neighbor's free wifi. Never do banking or other types of activities that deal with sensitive information on an unsecure connection.

 

[disneygirl1024]

He didn't think anything was stolen, so hoping not. He said he found a Trojan horse virus that entered through a backdoor on his computer. He's an IT guy, so I understand not a thing of this expect I know a virus is bad.

 

[dannyboyindc]

He didn't think anything was stolen, so hoping not. He said he found a Trojan horse virus that entered through a backdoor on his computer. He's an IT guy, so I understand not a thing of this expect I know a virus is bad.

It's unlikely this hacker targeted your boyfriend's laptop specifically...and the hacker may not have even been at WDW...they probably hacked into the wifi network and the virus found it's way to the laptop. In other words, I doubt it was the person in the room next to you, or even anyone staying at the resort. I'll bet others were affected too. It could of even been someone living in another country. Scary stuff.

 

[disneygirl1024]

Mine wasn't. Anyway, no trust here. I believe it was someone here on property with this being an unsecured connection. It's ironic that we had no problems with the computer issue til we arrived here.

 

[bethymouse]

Have to be careful w/ wifi wherever you go unfortunately.

 

[draybook]

Yeah, we really didn't use their wi-fi. I found it much easier to connect to one of our phones and use it as a secured/password protected hotspot for our laptop. The speed was there and it was easy to keep freeloaders out!

 

[disneygirl1024]

My hot spot on my phone is so slow I can't even use it for doing homework. Yeah having to do homework while on vacation stinks

 

[Polydweller]

You can get hacked simply by clicking on a link on a web page. You can get that even on your secure wifi. The point is, it doesn't have to be a direct hack of your computer at all. Just clicking a link. That's how the many of the attacks on secure networks like Facebook, Apple, Twitter, and other major companies have been happening. And, this can happen on ANY network anywhere. It's not the Disney network, it's the nature of being connected to the Internet.

It's a constant threat to the networks I've run as an IT manager. You have to have your radar up on any network.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I had no problems with the Wifi while on vacation. I used it to connect my iTouch and cellphone while in the parks, and I used it at the hotel to do homework. Virus protection software. That's all I have to say. Other than that, it was just really really slow...

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Lessons learned, right? I know we all disable our firewalls, but it's a good idea to make sure they're back up when you're going to be on a shared network. Not that a little thing like enabling a firewall should give you a false sense of security. As Polydweller said, you have to be alert.

 

[draybook]

My hot spot on my phone is so slow I can't even use it for doing homework. Yeah having to do homework while on vacation stinks

Indeed, if we go in October I'll have to do mine while down there too. If I can, I'm going to try to get it all done the day before we leave and then on our arrival day while my wife takes the kids to the pool.

 

[Hakunamatata]

He's an IT guy, so I understand not a thing of this expect I know a virus is bad.

He is an IT guy and this surprises him?

 

[disneygirl1024]

n

Lessons learned, right? I know we all disable our firewalls, but it's a good idea to make sure they're back up when you're going to be on a shared network. Not that a little thing like enabling a firewall should give you a false sense of security. As Polydweller said, you have to be alert.

Definitely!

 

[disneygirl1024]

He is an IT guy and this surprises him?

Actually not in the least! You should have heard him. Alot of bad words were being spewed :/ I just kept on napping!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I need to point out too that if you get on a public network, you take that risk. I've been on several trips with my laptop connected to the Wifi and have never had an issue. That's why you put a good strong password on your computer, make sure your securities are enabled, and that you do not use Internet Explorer, as it has numerous security issues that Firefox and Chrome do not have.

 

[lazyboy97o]

How does he know it came specifically from using Disney's network? There are many ways to spread a Trojan.

 

[wendysue]

The last time I took my laptop, while I was online, my camera light came on and I had not started it myself. (Seriously, why anyone would want to watch me tap away on a laptop in my old bathrobe, I can't understand). I taped some paper over it and when I got done on the site I was on, I shut it down and put it in the safe. Not taking it next time.

 

[Polydweller]

He didn't think anything was stolen, so hoping not. He said he found a Trojan horse virus that entered through a backdoor on his computer. He's an IT guy, so I understand not a thing of this expect I know a virus is bad.

Yep, IT guys click links too. Planting Trohan viruses on apparently creditable sites is one of the current plagues of the Internet. People should read on how the big companies got the hacks on their computers.

But, you can't blame Disney. It's being on the Internet on any network that is the issue. The virus writers and hackers sending out Trojans work hard to entice people to click links etc so their malware gets downloaded and as shown by major secure networks, it is possible to get around any security.

And saying the computer was OK before Disney really isn't relevant for two reasons. First, as said, it can happen on any network and two some hack Trojans don't activate immediately as a way to avoid detection. They sit there and activate on some cue or at some time later or the hacker activates it when they want to attack. For all you know, the hack was installed at home.