VIRGINIA BEACH - So, you think your wireless computer is safe from hackers because you're inside your home or office?
Think again, says Pernell Taylor with PT Consulting. From his dining room, he can find wireless access points in his neighborhood and find a computer without security locks.
Without that security, anyone can get your personal information.
It's a process called wardriving, a way to steal credit card and debit card numbers, passwords and account information.
Many people add extra security, like what's called Wifi Protected Access or WPA.
Taylor drove around, searching for "open doors" to computers.
His computer makes a noise when it finds one.
On one street, he found 10 unsecured computer.
At a Va. Beach shopping center, it was a hacker's paradise.
He can see unsecured access points and pick up the signal strength.
"If a hacker brings up a real powerful access point and put their own software on it, it redirects you and give you what you think is a banking website and you put in your password and user name on there and they just captured your information," he explained.
Moving on, he pinpointed a house with a wireless connection that wasn't secure and he logged onto their router.
Taylor says use the best security measures with strong encryption.
The FBI has issued a warning about wi-fi hot spots, warning against connecting to unsecure networks. Many businesses that offer these free services don't even know their networks have been breached.
