Securing access from an *hotspot*?

By definition *hotspots* are open networks. If I am using a hotspot, say at McDonalds, how can I ensure my connection is safe from attack to my laptop?

At home I am wired and safe.

Reply to
Tel
Loading thread data ...

software firewall. even windows firewall will do the job.

Reply to
Mike

Tel hath wroth:

Yep. Anyone can sniff your wireless traffic.

VPN tunnel to your own machine or to a VPN service provider. See:

for a shopping list.

Your ISP may also offer a VPN termination. Ask them. If they don't, point them to:

for an example of an ISP that cares about their customers wireless security.

Actually, I've tapped into wired home and office systems with less difficulty than wireless.

Hint: Make sure you know where all the cables going to your ethernet switch end up. A local 14 year old aspiring hacker once tapped into another neighbors ethernet switch with a long run of CAT5 cable to his house, while he was playing babysitter. Somehow, they failed to notice a bright blue ethernet cable running between the adjacent houses. I noticed it mostly because he had stolen the CAT5 cable box from my house. That was about 10 years ago. These days, he would probably have installed a hidden (rogue) wireless access point in the neighbors house.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Cripes, it's bad enough keeping 'em outta the liquor cabinet! Now I've got to run arpwatch to keep them off the network too. Yeesh.

Reply to
Bill Kearney

Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.