我们已经从万物互联的哲学概念转变为几乎所有事物都相互关联的物理现实。但有时您无法连接到您的家庭或工作网络(home or work network)，或公共WiFi 热点(WiFi hotspot)。这就是移动热点网络共享发挥作用的地方。
什么是移动热点网络共享？
大多数可以连接到蜂窝网络以访问Internet的电话或设备都可以共享该连接。它可以通过WiFi 或蓝牙连接(WiFi or Bluetooth connection)与很小区域内的设备共享。
您将设备连接到手机的部分是网络共享部分。从技术上讲，只要您以无线方式或使用USB 电缆(USB cable)之类的电线连接两个设备，您就可以将它们拴在一起。
您设置设备连接到蜂窝网络并共享(network and share)该连接的部分是移动热点部分(hotspot part)。您的设备上的某处将有一个设置，您可以告诉它共享其
Internet 连接(Internet connection)。它将允许您命名连接并设置您可以提供给其他人的密码，以便他们可以连接他们的设备。
那怎么会很危险？
有几种方法可能会给您带来问题。
您的蜂窝数据账单可能会急剧增加(Cellular Data Bill Could Shoot Up Drastically)
您(Did)是否曾经与朋友分享您的WiFi 密码(WiFi password)，却在深夜发现您的网速(Internet speed)已经慢到爬行？然后你打开你的路由器，你看到一半的公寓楼(apartment building)在你的网络上？对不起(Sorry)，但这是人的本性。
您将密码提供给一个人。你要求他们不要把它给别人。然后他们正在和他们的一个朋友交谈，然后想，“嗯，这只是一个人。不会有什么大不了的。他们不会将密码提供给其他任何人。” 这条链条还在继续。
想象一下发生在你的手机上(cell phone)。想象一下，您只有 5 GB 的数据，但有 5 个人在流式传输Netflix。一小时后，你要花数百美元请人观看 The Hills Have Eyes 3。
您的信息可能被拦截
每当(Anytime)您开始通过空中发送信息时，它就会变得比通过空中传播更容易受到攻击。有几种方法可以做到这一点，例如中间人攻击或通过数据包嗅探(packet sniffing)拦截传输。
当有人连接到您的手机时，您正在创建一条双向街道。如果您是提供访问权限(providing access)的人，您可能会受到客人的攻击。如果您是客人，您可能会为主人提供一种通过手机嬉戏的方式。
机密数据可能泄露
如果您是企业主(business owner)，这可能意味着您丢失了办公室的数据。想象一下：工作人员想在工作中访问未经授权的网站，因此他们将笔记本电脑连接到手机以绕过您的网络。是什么阻止他们将您的客户名单或定价策略(client list or pricing strategy)
发送给其他人？你不会知道，也无法阻止它。
你的手机电池会(Battery Will Drain)更快(Quicker)耗尽
好的，所以这并不危险，但如果您依赖手机联系家人和朋友，(family and friends)这可能是个问题。您的手机已经使用了相当多的电量，只是为了检查附近是否有手机信号塔(cell tower)，时不时地。
然后你把你的手机变成WiFi 路由器(WiFi router)，它需要更多的电量来访问任何连接到它的东西，并且不断地与手机信号塔(cell tower)通话。如果您的手机电池(phone battery)在待机状态下可能会持续几天，那么当您连接它时，不要指望它会持续超过几个小时。
您还会注意到，当您的电池快速耗尽时，它会变得异常热。就像，太热了，不能放在你的口袋里。所以这可能很危险，特别是如果你把它放在沙发或床(couch or bed)等柔软的表面上。
如何安全地连接到您的移动设备(Mobile Device)
让我们摒弃完全安全的概念。那是一种错觉。生活中你所能期望的最好的就是合理程度的安全感。也就是说，你感到满意的是，坏事发生的可能性比好事少得多。
- 仅在必要时使用网络共享。如果你善于区分需要和需要，你可能会发现它几乎从来没有必要。
- 只允许人们束缚你暗中信任的人。对于大多数人来说，这是一个简短的列表。我说的是你会信任你的银行卡和 PIN(bank card and PIN)的人。你(Which)也不应该这样做。
- 限制(Limit)您允许网络共享的时间。如果您需要绑定以向您的老板提交报告，请使用绑定，通过电子邮件发送报告，然后关闭绑定。
- 如果您的手机支持，请仅限制对允许设备的访问。
- 如果您允许网络共享的时间超过必要，请密切注意连接的设备。如果您不认识它们，或者数量太多，请立即关闭您的移动热点。
- 不要多次使用相同的密码进行网络共享。如果您允许朋友绑定一次，并且他们发现您的手机再次成为热点，他们很可能会继续使用。或者，如果连接被保存，他们的手机可能会在他们不知情的情况下连接。现在，您正在为他们的运动应用程序下载更新。电话通常会为您生成密码或 PIN 码(password or PIN number)。一些手机通过有限数量的单词或默认PIN(PINs)来执行此操作，从而使某人更容易强行连接到您的手机。
- 考虑在连接到某人的移动热点(mobile hotspot)时使用虚拟专用网络。确实，当您连接到其他任何人的网络时，您应该使用VPN 。
- 确保(Make sure)您有地方可以为手机充电。你会很快耗尽它，如果它是你唯一的生命线，你必须能够快速充电。
- 如果您是企业主(business owner)，并且没有移动设备管理(Mobile Device Management)( MDM ) 系统和强大的计算机和电话使用政策(computer and phone use policy)，那么您迟早要付款。决定为MDM支付已知金额，或者决定通过赌赔率来潜在地失去您的业务。您的来电。
安全移动热点网络(Safe Mobile Hotspot Tethering)共享的现实(Reality)
现在你知道可能发生什么了。还要记住，坏人和好人每天都在开发新的破解方法。
您是否有可能通过网络共享被黑客入侵？没有任何统计数据，但也没有人认为他们会出车祸(car accident)。可悲的事实是，几乎每个人都会遭遇某种车祸。如果他们幸运的话，那是一块油漆碎片(paint chip)。如果他们不是，这是一个改变生活的事件。所以，我们都有保险。
以同样的心态，做好自己的保险，以免因移动热点网络共享(hotspot tethering)而被黑客入侵。请遵循上述建议并密切注意您的手机。也许你会成为少数从未发生或导致事故的幸运者之一。
Is it Dangerous to Tether to a Cellphone for Internet Access?
We’ve gone from the philosophical cоncept of everything
being connected to the physical reality that almost еverything iѕ connected. Βut
there are those times where you can’t be connected to your home or work network,
or a public WiFi hotspot. That’s where mobile hotspot tethering comes into
play.
What is Mobile Hotspot Tethering?
Most phones or devices that can connect to the cellular
network to access the Internet can share that connection. It can share it with
devices in a very small area via WiFi or Bluetooth connection.
The part where you connect your device to a phone is the
tethering part. Technically, anytime you connect two devices, wirelessly or
with a wire like a USB cable, you’re tethering them.
The part where you set up the device connecting to the
cellular network and share that connection is the mobile hotspot part. There
will be a setting somewhere on your device that you can tell it to share its
Internet connection. It’ll allow you to name the connection and set a password
that you can give to other people so they can connect their devices.
How Can That be Dangerous?
There are a few ways that can cause a problem for you.
Your Cellular Data Bill Could Shoot Up Drastically
Did you ever share your WiFi password with a friend, only to
find by the end of the night your Internet speed has slowed down to a crawl?
Then you get on your router and you see half the apartment building is on your
network? Sorry, but that’s human nature.
You give the password to one person. You ask them not to
give it to anyone else. Then they’re talking with a friend of theirs and think,
“Well, it’s only one more person. It won’t be a big deal. They won’t give the
password to anyone else.” And that chain just continues.
Imagine that happening to your cell phone. Imagine that
you’ve only got 5 GB of data, but 5 people are streaming Netflix. An hour later
and you’re paying hundreds of dollars for someone to watch The Hills Have Eyes
3.
Your Information Could be Intercepted
Anytime you start sending information through the air, it
becomes more vulnerable than if it’s travelling through the air. There are
several ways that this could be done, such as a man-in-the-middle attack or
intercepting the transmission via packet sniffing.
When someone tethers to your phone, you are creating a
two-way street. If you’re the one providing access, you may be open to attack
from your guest. If you’re the guest, you may be providing a way for the host
to frolic through your phone.
Confidential Data Could be Leaked
If you’re a business owner, it might mean you losing data
from your office. Picture this: a worker wants to access unauthorized sites at
work, so they connect their laptop to their cellphone to circumvent your
network. What’s to stop them from sending your client list or pricing strategy
to someone else? You wouldn’t know and you couldn’t stop it.
Your Phone Battery Will Drain Much Quicker
Ok, so this isn’t dangerous, but if you are reliant on your phone for contacting family and friends this could be a problem. Your phone already uses a fair amount of power just to check and see if there’s a cell tower nearby, every now and again.
Then you make your phone into WiFi router and it takes more power to serve out access to whatever is tethered to it and is constantly talking to the cell tower. Where your phone battery might last a few days on standby, don’t expect it to last more than a few hours when you tether to it.
Something you will also notice is when your battery drains
fast, it gets unusually hot. Like, too hot to put in your pocket. So that could
be dangerous, especially if you leave it on a soft surface like a couch or bed.
How to Tether to Your Mobile Device Safely
Let’s do away with the notion of complete safety. That’s an
illusion. The best you can hope for in life is a reasonable degree of security.
That is, you’re satisfied that the bad things are much less likely to happen
than the good things.
- Only use tethering when necessary. If you’re good at separating need from want, you’ll probably find that it’s almost never necessary.
- Only allow people to tether that you trust implicitly. For most people, that’s a short list. I’m talking about people you would trust with your bank card and PIN. Which you should never do either.
- Limit the amount of time that you allow tethering. If you need to tether to submit a report to your boss, get on the tether, e-mail the report, then shut off tethering.
- If your phone supports it, limit access to allowed devices only.
- If you allow tethering for any longer than necessary, keep an eye on what devices are connected. If you don’t recognize them, or there’s too many, shut of your mobile hotspot immediately.
- Don’t use the same password for tethering more than once. If you’ve allowed a friend to tether once, and they see that your phone is hotspot again, they’re likely to jump on. Or, if the connection is saved, their phone might connect even without them knowing it. Now you’re downloading updates for their sports apps on your dime. Phones will often generate a password or PIN number for you. Some phones do this from a limited number of words or default PINs making it easier for someone to brute force a connection to your phone.
- Consider using a virtual private network when tethered to someone’s mobile hotspot. Really, you should use a VPN when connected to anyone else’s network, period.
- Make sure that you have somewhere to charge your phone. You’re going to drain it quickly and if it’s your only lifeline you must be able to charge it up quickly.
- If you’re a business owner and you don’t have Mobile Device Management (MDM) system and a strong computer and phone use policy in place, you’re going to pay sooner or later. Decide to pay a known amount for the MDM or decide to potentially lose your business by betting against the odds. Your call.
The Reality of Safe Mobile Hotspot Tethering
Now you know what could possibly happen. Also keep in mind
that new ways to hack things are being developed every day, by the bad guys and
the good guys.
Is it likely that you’re going to get hacked through
tethering? There aren’t any statistics on that, but no one thinks they’ll get
in a car accident either. The sad fact is that almost everyone gets in a car
accident of some sort. If they’re lucky, it’s a paint chip. If they aren’t,
it’s a life altering event. So, we all get insurance.
In the same mindset, be your own insurance against getting
hacked through mobile hotspot tethering. Follow the advice above and keep an
eye on your phone. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky few that never has, or
causes, an accident.
