At a recent user group meeting, the presenter, Frank Keeney, mentioned that enabling SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) on your e-mail client is a way to prevent people with sniffing programs from capturing your userid and password. Frank mentioned programs such as Sniffer, EtherPeek NX, and Ethereal (freeware) which work on Windows, and CENiffer, which works on PocketPCs such as the iPaqs.
It's simple enough to enable SSL on Outlook Express. Just go to Tools, Accounts, select the appropriate e-mail account, click the Properties button, then click the Advanced tab. Make sure the box is checked for "This server requires a secure (SSL) connection" for both "Outgoing mail" (SMTP) and "Incoming mail" (POP3 or IMAP).
Since I have an Earthlink account (actually it's "Charter Pipeline powered by Earthlink," but that doesn't make any difference for this discussion), I tried this. It doesn't work.
It's on the Web
It turns out that Daniel H. Steinberg had already asked Earthlink about this a couple of months ago. He received this response.
"Please note that currently we do not support SSL for POP3 e-mail. And we have no future plans to add SSL to our mail computers at this time. However, we are always interested in comments from our customers and the public regarding ways to improve our product and service. We will certainly consider your suggestion."
This seems extremely shortsighted on the part of "the number one provider of the real Internet," especially since they are now marketing Boingo's wireless services.
SSL Alternatives
One way to get around Earthlink's non-support of SSL with POP3 e-mail is to use a different e-mail service. Novell offers free e-mail accounts at MyRealBox (only for personal use, not for business use).
I had heard about Boingo at a PIBMUG meeting sometime in the past. Boingo was in the Agere booth at Networld + Interop which was held in Las Vegas recently. They offered an Orinoco wireless card for "free" if you signed up for three months of Boingo service at $24.95/month, after which you could cancel. Since $75 is about what these cards were selling for in single quantities, I signed up and figured I wouldn't have lost anything even if I never got to use the wireless service.
I did have a chance to use Boingo when I was at a conference at the Colorado Springs Sheraton about two weeks ago. When I first tried to log in using the Boingo client, I couldn't. This was through a provider called Wayport that they have a roaming agreement with. I called Boingo and a tech support guy (who seemed quite knowledgeable) told me that some part of Boingo was not working properly and that I'd have to log in "through the backdoor."
Of course, this meant not using the Boingo client, but through a Wayport authentication screen that was displayed on Internet Explorer. Because of this I had to log in as "boingo/userid" instead of "userid." By the next day, Boingo had fixed whatever the problem was and I was able to log in through the Boingo client. I did try enabling the VPN feature in the Boingo software ("a $30 value"), but when I did, I got disconnected.
I tried this about two or three times but was not able to maintain a connection. Before I tried this, I talked to a different tech support guy who didn't know that if I checked POP3 e-mail, I'd be sending my userid and password in the clear over a wireless connection. I explained to him that I had verified this myself by using a sniffing program. I didn't pursue the VPN matter further, so I don't know if the problem of getting disconnected was only a temporary one.
Second Thoughts
Now, I think I may have failed to cancel soon enough to avoid being charged for a fourth month, so maybe I'll have to take some time and check the VPN out somewhere locally. (This would have to be one of the official Boingo sites and not one of the free community networks. In other words, the VPN won't work if I park in front of Frank's house and try to use his connection.
But I see there is an official Boingo site at the Coffee Gallery on North Lake in Altadena, California. The $24.95 plan allows you to use Boingo for up to 10 days (noon to noon) per month. If you want to use it everyday, you can pay $74.95. Rather than canceling the service altogether, I think I'll switch to the pay as you go plan, which costs $7.95 each time you use it and carries no monthly fee.
