Originally published Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
Q&A
Encryption no guarantee of privacy on public Wi-Fi
Q: I believe you have cautioned readers not to use public Wi-Fi for accessing financial accounts. Why is that a concern if the server you...
![]() |
Special to The Seattle Times
Q: I believe you have cautioned readers not to use public Wi-Fi for accessing financial accounts. Why is that a concern if the server you connect to uses 128-bit encryption?
Eldon H. Graham, Bellevue
A: It wouldn't surprise me at all if the National Security Agency is able to crack 128-bit encryption. But, no, I wouldn't worry too much about your average hacker cracking your transmission.
That said, there are other things to worry about when connecting via an unsecure public Wi-Fi connection. First, as long as you're connected, even though the encrypted transmission might be secure, a hacker can still access other things on your computer.
And before you establish that encrypted link with your financial institution you generally have to send a password. Password transmission is one of the things for which hackers scan when they monitor traffic on public Wi-Fi networks.
It's a dangerous world out there.
Q: I am a Comcast customer and use Outlook 2003 to view e-mail. Sometimes, when I've not used my computer for a few days then try to access e-mail, my Inbox will indicate I have 20 e-mails, but only five of them are actually there. Plus some e-mails I've already opened and read but not deleted are missing and are not in the Deleted Items file.
I can't access the e-mails in Comcast because they aren't there anymore. I've searched in various Outlook files trying to find the missing e-mails but I can't find them.
Then after a few weeks, the missing e-mails show up along with the previously opened e-mails that had disappeared. Do you have any ideas on how I can address this problem?
Monty Berke, Burien
A: Sounds pretty strange. My advice would be to make sure you're not applying a filter or custom view. Outlook allows users to set custom views that display only messages matching specified criteria.
This feature is accessed on the View menu by selecting Current View then Customize Current View. You'd want to make sure the program lists "none" under Filter.
![]()
If you have any concern about your e-mail actually disappearing, you may want to make sure Outlook doesn't remove them from your Comcast mail server when it checks e-mail. To do so, go to the Tools menu and selection Options.
Next, click on the Mail Setup tab and then on the E-mail Accounts button. Select the account you want to configure and then click on More Settings.
Finally, click on the Advanced tab and then select the check box next to "Leave a copy of messages on the server."
After that, you'll be able to see all your messages on your Web interface with Comcast.
The downside is that messages will have to be deleted in both the Web interface and in Outlook when you want to get rid of them.
Q: You recently answered a question by saying Windows Live Hotmail could be downloaded onto a local (home) computer using Microsoft Outlook. Can Live Hotmail also be downloaded into Microsoft Outlook Express?
In looking at the Live Hotmail demo it appears that the answer is no. (Microsoft Office Outlook isn't the same as Outlook Express is it?)
Also, I will be changing my Internet service provider provider and have set up a Gmail account.
If I want to set up my Gmail account to download messages into Outlook Express, will the existing information in Outlook Express (saved messages, contacts, folders, etc.) remain in place, with new Gmail messages just pulled in, or will setting up this new account/process wipe out the existing information in Outlook Express?
K. Knoller
A: As it happens, only paid Hotmail accounts worked with Outlook Express. (And yes, Outlook and Outlook Express are different programs. Outlook comes as a part of the Microsoft Office suite. Outlook Express is a free application.)
As for getting things set up with your new Gmail account, when you set up Outlook Express to download messages from Gmail your current folders, saved messages and contacts will not be affected.
Questions for Patrick Marshall may be sent by e-mail to pmarshall@seattletimes.com or pgmarshall@pgmarshall.net, or by mail at Q&A/Technology, The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
More Business & Technology headlines...
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
Nintendo re-enlists Mario, savior of video-game industry
Verizon-Frontier deal stirs concern among consumers
Brier Dudley: 'Guitar Hero' founder excited about future
Gaps for consumers in Democrat health care bills
Hutch gets $10M from Bezos family for immunotherapy research

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Real Salt Lake defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy with penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play at Qwest Field in Seattle.
nwautos
Local riders say they've seen a surge in scooter interest in recent years, mostly from people wanting another commuting option. Seattle now ranks as o...
Post a comment
nwjobs
Post a comment
Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Do you suffer from "sitting disease"?
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
322 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
200 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
170 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
133 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
93 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
78 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
73 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
69 - UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
63 - Ranking the Pac
53
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Taste | The Great Pie Bake-off pits friends and fruit






