With great power comes great responsibility. It was true for Peter Parker when he became Spider-Man, and it’s true for users of public wireless networks. With a trusted provider like clear wireless internet service, you can set up your own security settings, but if you’re connecting to a public Wi-Fi hotspot, you don’t necessarily know how secure that network is. Session hijackers can exploit these vulnerabilities, often more easily than you might think. For instance, there’s a Firefox web browser extension, called Firesheep, which allows users with limited technical know-how to sniff out and detect unencrypted cookies. This extension was developed by Eric Butler and released earlier in 2010. Butler says that the extension is intended to demonstrate security risks, and Mozilla has protected the extension from black-listing.Firesheep is less effective when you are connecting to a secure network that requires a password. A WEP password offers less protection than a WPA password, as a Firesheep user who figures out the WEP password can still access your cookies. With WPA, you are actually isolated from the network. There are other ways to block Firesheep on your computer if you must connect to a public hotspot. For instance, there are other Firefox extensions, such as BlackSheep and Fireshepherd, which can block Firesheep on your computer and alert you if someone is trying to access it. With a Clear mobile USB modem, however, your need to connect to unsecured networks will disappear.