Hot Button Issues: WiFi

[DonSchap]

One of the newer developments with the introduction of the SD Memory card was the invention of the WiFi card, which basically is a network transceiver device which piggy-backs inside the SD memory card, so that when it gets within range of a WiFi access point, in your home or some selected "hotspot" or WebCafe ... your stored images begin to download themselves to the Internet.

Wow, how convenient, huh?

Unfortunately, when you link to the Internet ... we all kind of know what predators are out there ... or do we?

For the sake of argument, let's say a couple days ago, you took images that you might consider ... "private", for your own enjoyment ... and they are quietly sitting stored in your SD card. Now, you are near your favorite coffee shop, where you have set up a transfer link. The camera is turned on and ... yeah, you are "talking" to the Internet. The images begin their upload and up they go, to whatever website you directed them to go ... involuntarily and unselected. The card basically sends ANYTHING that had not been transferred previously. The camera has no control of this card. SO, guess where these "awkward" images now reside.

You tell me ... if you can see the Internet ... can it see you? Could someone "poll" your camera? If so ... and they can download your images ... what to stop them from, say ... uploading an "edited" image in place of it? :eek:

[Screenclutter]

I wonder if these wifi SD memory cards have a unique MAC address, it can become part of a private network

[Csae]

You tell me ... if you can see the Internet ... can it see you? Could someone "poll" your camera? If so ... and they can download your images ... what to stop them from, say ... uploading an "edited" image in place of it? :eek:

Yes.

If you are sending anything on the internet at a cafe, you are very open to any sort of attack.

Whether you are sending it from a laptop or a wireless SD card, hotspots are not very safe.

Mind you, even at home, wirelessly, you could be getting sniffed. (That is the data intercepted, perhaps modified, and resend, read, analyzed, copied, etc.)

If you have pictures you consider private, you should never upload them online. Period.

If you have pictures you consider private but want to share them online, well, wait t'ill you get home. It'll be safer, not 100% but safer.

[K1W1]

If anybody is that paranoid about getting images purloined they probably shouldn't even have an Internet connection and definitely would not be wanting to buy an EyeFi card.
The reality is that whilst it's technically possible to have your wifi image upload connection hacked and to have images stolen who is going to bother? If you are in a public space using a wifi access point to upload your images there is almost certainly other people using the same access point to do far more interesting things on real PC's that will be way more attractive to hackers.

[jr_rodriguez]

Don,
It's a bit scary, but guess what? When it comes to security vs. convenience, people will choose convenience 99.9% of the time, at least in the U.S. (I can't speak for other countries).
The few that value their privacy won't purchase these cards, but a whole lot of others will think the convenience is worth the potential for embarrassment.

JR

[mattdm]

You tell me ... if you can see the Internet ... can it see you? Could someone "poll" your camera? If so ... and they can download your images ... what to stop them from, say ... uploading an "edited" image in place of it? :eek:

This seems very, very unlikely. The wifi card / camera would have to implement server capabilities, or else have client software that's a) complicated enough to be exposed to malware b) buggy enough to be tricked into running it c) has enough extra room to actually load and execute said malware. And that's not even counting that the attack would have to be written with that wifi card in mind — your standard Windows trojan wouldn't do it.

You're dead on in noting that unencrypted wifi uploads can be eavesdropped. And with an unsecured public network, there's always the risk of a malicious man-in-the-middle attack. And, of course, once you've uploaded an image to some public service, your security is in the hands of that service. But I don't think it's worth losing sleep about your wifi card being "polled".