Once you register/share your WiFi you don’t need to leave your computer on all the time, therefore the Whisher service doesn’t change whether you (WiFi owner) have a firewall or not.

The sharing mechanism is a lot more simple than all of the methods you’ve listed. We simply gather WiFi credentials (MACs&Encryption key) and distribute them transparently through the application just to the authorized users. These credentials will never be seen in clear by anyone, they are always transported and stored encrypted.

On the other side you’re probably right in that we could better communicate these points. We will for sure take into account and take the opportunity to thank you for the input.

Regards,

Thanks for taking the time to comment on Techzoogle. While I do not doubt that WiFi networks are vulnerable (actually every network is)… what I am saying is that the risks of allowing a network to be shared goes way up. Without your website talking more about how it is secured on top of that, it just makes me doubt that security has not been thought of in this case.

If for example, I secured my WiFi network with WPA or WEP and a firewall, how does the Whisher software go around that to give the user access automatically without contacting the owner itself? OR does Whisher have some sort of security mechanism in place that is not at all mentioned. Does the software create some sort of tunnel to all shared connections? is there some sort of authentication? if I used mac authentication on my WiFi network, how will Wisher go about giving access to a user that is not on the MAC list? etc. These are the questions that really need to be addressed and explained on your website.

You are right, I am not one to share my WiFi network BUT for someone that does share their WiFi network, I hate to see them have extra security vulnerabilities from the use of the Whisher software (that they don’t know about), especially if you are sharing it with everyone and anyone. You may have already addressed this but it has yet to be talked about on your website.

Mark

First of all thanks for commenting on Whisher.

Just to clarify, Whisher works on top of any Wi-Fi network. Instant presence information about other users connected around, integrated IM, file exchange and local services will be available both on free and paid hotspots.

From what I can see you are not a potential Whisher user, because you don’t believe in sharing at all (and this applies to all aspects in your life: connection, experiences, etc.) and your concerns about security and very high, which is completely respectable. Actually if I were you I wouldn’t use WiFi at all, even if you are at your home in your isolated protected cloud, others could easily get in and do very bad stuff. That’s why we explicitly warn users in our FAQ about the risks involved in connecting to Wi-Fi networks.

I hope this helps to make Whisher a bit more understandable.

Regards,