The Security Mentor

Would you like to see examples of what can happen if you're on a network where everyone can see everyone else's traffic?

Older cable modem systems were like party lines where everyone's traffic was mixed together. Here's an article about how you can see other people's passwords on a cable modem. WiFi networks have the same problem.

The article's got more technical detail than you probably want but the main point is that too many places that ask for your password don't arrange to scramble it as it goes over the wire or over the air. If they did you'd be safer.