Comments on: What Are Some Good Tips For Wifi Security When Surfing At A Wifi Hotspot?

By: Dre

Dre — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:58:34 +0000

Because information passed from your computer to the hotspot router is not encrypted it is a good idea NOT to conduct any kind of purchases or activities that would require your credit card number and or logins for banking or anything financial where they might be able to manipulate your finances.
I don’t use hotspots.. they’re too risky.
For instance, if you log into your email on a hotspot, I can capture your username and password. With your email, I can get into A LOT of other things such a banking/myspace/amazon by requesting a new password and logging into your email and then getting into everything.
Beware. I would just surf the web without logging in to be on the safe side.

By: Todd

Todd — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:16:22 +0000

I’d say vista has overall better security than previous versions of windows, which I’m sure helps a little to begin with. The main point when surfing at a wifi hotspot would be to make sure you aren’t doing anything you would mind people seeing. If you are transferring sensitive information over the internet, there’s always a chance someone else can see it. This includes passwords/bank information, etc. When you’re using Wifi you’re broadcasting everything you do out everywhere, people just have to know how to understand it. So be mindful and think what a hacker might want to gain from someone they don’t know. Something they can use for identity theft or other important information. Simply know this and be careful what you do when online.

By: Fly out

Fly out — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:09:44 +0000

The main thing to look out for is APR posioning. This involves a user, being able to tell a router that your computer is actually their computer. So basically their computer becomes a middle man Hi-Jacking your trafic, ie passwords etc…
This can not be prevent, however it can be detected with software out there.

By: mets501

mets501 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:42:48 +0000

Make sure you’ve got virus protection, spyware protection, and possibly a product like Norton Internet Security (although I don’t recommend that product in particular).

By: George A

George A — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:02:26 +0000

You can safely use a hotspot and avoid all the issues discussed above by using software that creates an encrypted tunnel between your laptop and a secure place outside of the hotspot.
Go to http://www.surfbouncer.com to read more. I use this and it’s great.