Hidden dangers of free public WiFi

TalkBack 9 of 20:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

I agree...

Good tips by the author for preventing your machine from auto-logon to rogue connection points and file sharing. But even if you get on a rogue connection point, you'll still be fine if you follow a few rules. So I hope this article doesn't scare the populace out of providing/using WiFi (I'd like to think it has become too useful to backtrack now).

In reality, three things will keep you safe:

1) Run a firewall.
2) Only send private data (logins, ssn, cc#, etc.) over an encrypted connection to a well-known site...and verify the site's certificate.
3) Clear cookies and private data after ending each web session, so that none is stored on your machine. Browsers now make this easy (even IE, though Firefox is extra good at it, IMO).

These are not hard. At least #s 1 & 3 are configured and then automatic thereafter. #2 is somewhat automatable too - browsers generally will complain to you of invalid certificates and will let you know when you're entering data on an unencrypted page.

Posted by: techboy_z   Posted on: 10/04/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Infrastructure VMware VMware virtualization software has been adopted by over 120,000 enterprise ... Download Now
• Five Steps to Determine When to Virtualize YourServers VMware Server virtualization isn't just for big companies. Entry-level ... Download Now
• Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now