 WillyPremium
join:2000-09-24
USA
kudos:1 | Wireless connection in hotel I'll be spending a month in a hotel while renovations are being done in my condo and will be using a wireless network supplied by the hotel.
The first time you open IE you get the hotel's page which asks for a password and has a check box that asks if you have a VPN. I don't.
I'm on a Windows Vista Home laptop and use McAfee Security suite.
What do I need to do to protect myself and protect private information?
I know just enough about wireless security to set up my home router properly, past that I'm in the dark. |
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 nwrickertsand groperPremium,MVM
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL
kudos:7
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| Make sure that McAfee consider the hotel network to be untrusted (or public, or whatever term they use). If you see any certificate errors when browsing, take them seriously - for example, skip going to that site.
Apart from that, no need to worry. The firewall and SSL should take care of most of the problems.
Yes, there are some scenarios where a hacker could setup a bogus network using the hotel's SSID. But even then, the firewall and care of security certificates should prevent most problems.
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AT&T Uverse; Zyxel NBG334W router (behind the 2wire gateway); openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.16 |
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WillyPremium
join:2000-09-24
USA
kudos:1 | That's good news, thanks.
A couple more questions.
Most of what I go online for will be be casual browsing but I'll also be online for banking, bill paying, email, etc., entering account numbers and passwords.
Can I assume if I follow your advice this information will be safe?
Also, what's SSL?
Thanks,
Steve |
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 SoonerAlPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-23
Norman, OK
kudos:5 | SSL = Secure Socket Layer...
Look for the little padlock icon when surfing the web and doing e-commerce like banking, purchasing, etc. The screen shot is from IE 8...
Many ISPs also offer SSL protected email either POP3/SMTP or webmail. Check with your ISP for help with that.
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"When all else fails, read the instructions..."
MS-MVP Windows Desktop Experience |
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nwrickertsand groperPremium,MVM
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL
kudos:7 Reviews:
·AT&T U-Verse
| reply to Willy
said by Willy:Also, what's SSL? As SoonerAl  pointed out, that stands for "Secure Socket Layer". Using SSL, all of the data is sent encrypted.
The main risk is that somebody could setup a bogus site that looks like the bank site. And in that case then encrypting data doesn't do a lot of good if you are encrypting it so that the bad guys can read it. That's why you need to be careful about any certificate warnings (might indicate that you are not really talking to the bank), and you need to check that your connection is indeed encrypted (that padlock or similar indicator, depending on the browser).
As long as you are using SSL and talking to the bank site itself, your banking data and passwords are kept safe by the encryption used.
As SoonerAl suggested, for email it is also wise to use an encrypted connection if available. In most case, the email itself isn't that important. But any passwords you send should be sent encrypted if possible (typically with the use of SSL).
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AT&T Uverse; Zyxel NBG334W router (behind the 2wire gateway); openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.16 |
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WillyPremium
join:2000-09-24
USA
kudos:1 | reply to Willy
Thanks to both of you.
All the financial sites use SSL and I never link to them via email so I should be OK.
Thanks again
Steve |
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