June 11 (Bloomberg) — New Zealand’s privacy commissioner said it’s referring Google Inc.’s gathering of data on wireless networks to police.

via New Zealand Refers Google’s Wireless Data-Gathering to Police – BusinessWeek.

(What do you suppose was really going on? I drove eight miles to the grocery store and back (total 16) and logged over 100 private and commercial wi-fi networks. I even discovered my local McDonalds has free wi-fi.  It just doesn’t make any sense that Google would actually stop and try to monitor wireless traffic. To what end?)

Your wifi communications are not as secure as you may think. Others can listen to your data, sometimes as easily as to a radio broadcast!

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Wireless Internet Security: What can I do to protect myself on open wifi networks? Even though wireless networks can be hacked, you can protect yourself and have a safe Internet experience.

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The next version of the Bluetooth short-range wireless protocol officially launched this week, promising an eightfold speed increase that could help device makers like Apple offer true wireless syncing on their handheld products in about a year’s time.

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Finally, after al that time with the cell phone providers painting the United State landscape with towers the United State Department of Natural Resources and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has finally reaches a bartering agreement with AT&T, Alltel, Sprint, and Verizon. According to Associated Press

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(PC World) IT managers should start familiarizing themselves with a new security tool — the paint brush — as Japanese researchers have come up with a paint that they say will block high-speed wireless signals, giving businesses a cheap option to protect their wireless networks.

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Richard Farina booted up his computer on an American Airlines flight in October from New York to San Francisco. It was one of the first commercial flights to offer wireless Internet service. Within a couple minutes of reaching 10,000 feet, Farina was snooping the airwaves with the ability to see what his fellow pass

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Concise guide on how to protect yourself from hackers at public wi-fi locations, including what kind of information you type is safe, what isn’t, and how to be safer. Hint: wireless internet is much less secure than you think.

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Wireless and Mobile News offers some great tips for getting ready for a fire or disaster with your cell phone. These tips are a reminder of what can happens and how so quickly a household can go up in smoke.

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Researchers are working on turning flickering LED lights into wireless access points instead of using normal electromagnetic radiation. Pointless really as the data rates are so poor.

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Credit card processors have finally realized what security experts have known since 2001: WEP is next to worthless as a wireless security protocol, and they’re finally going its use in credit card processing systems
—but not until mid-2010. The use of WEP was a major factor in the largest consumer data theft ever.

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A professor in Brazil is helping to bring solar powered wireless internet to communities in need. The low-cost “access point in a box” needs no internet connection, electricity, or assembly to function. It is being tested on lamp posts in a number of locations.

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The scientists, based in Pisa, claim that during an uninterrupted 12-hour experiment, they achieved throughput speeds above 1.2 Terabits per second

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…and PNC Bank is also on my list of financial institutions that could care less about the average Joe.

Apparently when you travel to a foreign country INCLUDING CANADA VIA turns off your ATM card. My wife is currently traveling in Toronto and has NO ACCESS TO HER ACCOUNTS.

When I called my BANK, PNC Bank based in Maryland, and D.C. all they could do was tell me to call a VISA 800 number.

This has been going on for TWO DAYS and she has yet to be able to access an ATM there.

This was NEVER a problem beofre and now it apparently is a VERY BIG problem.

I am POISED to take all of my accounts out of my current bank PnC Bank for their INABILITY and UNWILLINGNESS to help my wife access her funds a few hundred miles outside of the USA.

When you travel to Canada be SURE to call VISA AND TAKE AMERICAN EXPRESS. I am calling American Express Gold Card people next!

I am SO TIRED of being treated like SCUM by so-called American businesses. Damn tired.

Hopes for Wireless Cities Are Fading By IAN URBINA PHILADELPHIA — It was hailed as Internet for the masses when Philadelphia officials announced plans in 2005 to erect the largest municipal Wi-Fi grid in the country, stretching wireless access over 135 square miles with the hope of bringing free or low-cost service to all residents

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Wi-Fi networking range is like money, candy, and free time. You can never have too much of it. Getting more range out of your wireless networking gear can be a challenge, but it isn’t impossible. (Visit this link at Yahoo Tech to learn more.)

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The Eye-Fi 2GB SD Card that can wirelessly transfer pics to your computer just got FCC approval. There’s an 802.11b/g Wi-Fi chip on board, allowing you to upload shots that you’ve taken without plugging in your camera.

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