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Last weekend a Gmail vulnerability was demonstrated at DEFCON, one of the oldest continuous running hacker conventions. Though it’s not specific to Gmail, a session hijacking demonstration by Robert Graham showed hackers can take over a users email account by simply sniffing network traffic and stealing web browser files called “cookies.” A simple fix for Firefox users is to install an add-on called Better Gmail. This Firefox extension forces Gmail to connect using a secure connection (https://) all the time, which eliminates the problem.

Google is looking into adding secure sessions (https://) to their connections, but it will take time. If you still use Internet Explorer, be sure to type “https://www.gmail.com” to check your email. This will also prevent network sniffing problems.

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Published on: August 7th, 2007

Categories: Microsoft & Google, Privacy / Security, Tech Stories