> > I think you're right. Does this mean anyone could easily intercept my > > login and password and log in as me? > > The basic answer for this is "yes". Definitely your password could be > intercepted and used by others. > > But consider for a minute what is involved with that... > > Someone floating out there on the net would have to be intercepting packets. > And the packets that you're sending would need to flow over the same path to > the endpoint (not guaranteed by IP). And they would need to be able to > filter the mass of packets going by their system to get the one(s) with your > password information. And they would initially have to identify a need to > get your password in order to target your packets for capture. > > Granted all of this is indeed doable, but IMHO it's like looking for a > particular atom in a haystack, let alone the needle...
Ok, it sounds like I should contact the companies I'm ftp'ing to and see if there is a safe option for transmitting my password. If not, I should just use a unique password and keep an eye on things. I would think Google and Yahoo wouldn't want my password to their systems getting out any more than I want it getting out. - Grant -- [email protected] mailing list
