Protected by WEP/WPA

If your mother uses wifi at home to send you e-mail, and your home network is not protected by WEP or WPA, what reasons would you suggest to her for enabling one of these two protocols at home if the liability of reading those e-mails still exists once her message leaves your home, on it's way to school?

Throughout this class, I have learned that nothing on the Internet is safe, and if my mother was sending an email with our home network that is not protected by WEP or WPA, then that's even scarier. Not having your Internet protected and allowing basically anyone and everyone to either use or research your history on the web, is very dangerous. A hacker could easily get onto your network and send you a virus as well as take valuable information. I online shop a lot or even look at my bank statements, anything that potential holds valuable information, would be out in the public for anyone to see since there is no barrier stopping them. I remember a couple years ago, my neighbors wifi would come up on my computer and they didn't secure it. If one of our other neighbors were the "shady" type and decided to hack into their network, they could do so. Anyone around you could potentially wipe out any information and send viruses to your computer. They could find out anything in your history, just like that email my mom sent. It's very scary to think about.

So not only could someone near by steal your network, they could hack into your network and steal valuable information, and also send viruses. Overall, having a secure network just makes the Internet a lot safer than if you didn't have any protection at all. Even the slightest protection is better than none. However, your home networks should be protected by WEP or WPA to ensure your computer safety.