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Comment by boyter | Hacker News Reader

You can also SSH tunnel out to a secure server, which is what you should do on any public network that isnt under your control.

It won't protect you from man in the middle attacks on the general internet, or fix the underlying issue with most websites, but it will stop firesheep.

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It seems unlikely most users on the Internet could even parse your suggestion, much less execute it. That doesn't make them stupid, just not experts in the subject. Instead they rely on experts, like you, to make the right choices for them in these esoteric matters. While there are any number of ways you might solve this problem, HTTPS is the best available option since clients and servers already support it. As ericflo is pointing out, a small number of sites deploying HTTPS would go a long way to achieving the goal of a more secure Internet for all.

I totally agree. In those cases I usually point people in the direction of TOR and the like. The orginal poster just asked if HTTPS was the only way to get around Firesheep, and the answer of course is no it isn't.

I still think HTTPS is the best way forward (never said anything to dispute that), but right now if you want speed (tor is slow!) and still want be safe, a SSH tunnel is the way to go.

Besides, anyone reading Hacker News is probably comfortable with creating a SSH tunnel, or learning how to do so :)

Getting a VPN account from some service like witopia.net is not rocket science. People just need to be educated that they need a VPN account if they want to use a publicly shared network without compromising their privacy.

(Of course, as boyter pointed out, a VPN connection doesn't protect you on the general internet, but it does protect you where you're most exposed.)

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