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Jetting off abroad? Pack protection ... for your Wi-Fi

Feds warn of malware attacks on hotel net surfers

A US government agency is warning travellers to be wary of malware that installs itself via pop-up browser windows on hotel internet connections.

The malicious dialogue boxes typically pose as software updates to legitimate software products, an advisory from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) explains.

"The FBI recommends that all government, private industry, and academic personnel who travel abroad take extra caution before updating software products on their hotel internet connection," IC3 warns. "[Check] the author or digital certificate of any prompted update to see if it corresponds to the software vendor may reveal an attempted attack.

"The FBI also recommends that travellers perform software updates on laptops immediately before travelling, and that they download software updates directly from the software vendor’s website if updates are necessary while abroad."

Reading between the lines, the agency is urging business travellers to safeguard themselves against malware-based attacks that are ultimately aimed at industrial espionage. ®

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