Episode 548: Project Eavesdrop

Our reporter Steve Henn wanted to know what secrets his computer was revealing — so he let some hackers spy on his web traffic.
Our reporter Steve Henn wanted to know what secrets his computer was revealing — so he let some hackers spy on his web traffic.

Episode 548: Project Eavesdrop

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Note: This episode originally aired in June 2014.

There’s a lot of talk about computer privacy, about keeping our data secure. Even if you feel like you have nothing to hide, you probably don’t want your co-workers rooting through your personal data. Your web traffic is like a digital fingerprint. It reveals where and who you are, what you’re searching, what you’re reading, who you talk to, even what you are curious about. But your computer or your phone might be betraying you. It might be giving away your secrets.

Planet Money’s Steve Henn wanted to know just how much someone could learn about him by just sitting back and watching his internet traffic slide by. So he invited a couple hacking experts to bug his internet connection for a week.

On today’s show: What they discovered, and what that tells us about security, smartphones and the dangers of free WiFi.

Music: “The Dirty” and “Quasar Groove.” Find us: Twitter / Facebook.

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