Security
Hi,
I have a laptop and would like to access the internet.I'm going to use T-mobile which is my cell phone provider's hot spots. I will most likely be browsing the internet and using vpn to log into my company.
How secure are hot spots? What can I do to make it secure? Any help would be appreciated.
hot spots per definition are not secure.
What can I do to make it secure ?
use a firewall: zone-alarm, tiny personal firewall, or windows xp's built in firewall.
Leopold
by techkid
firewalls are not the only thing you need to think about.
Encryption. Hot spots generally don't use WEP or any other encryption mechanism because it's simply easier to setup that way. The coffe shop near me states that because they only have Barista's working and not IT people, they don't use any security. Even if you have the best software firewall available on your laptop people will still be able to sniff your wireless traffic with relative ease.
If you're VPNing into work that should cover your encryption. But until the vpn is actually established your network traffic will be easily readable, meaning, when you enter the login and password info for the vpn, anyone who really wants to sniff that info can
by zaferus
Techkid is not entirely correct. An IPSEC VPN will not transmit any authentication information clear text. If you use a 3DES or AES VPN you should have sufficient data security for what you transmit.
As well, use a firewall like Zonealarm Pro and turn off your file sharing and make sure your antivirus is up to date. That should be reasonable security for your system. Just remember that anything you do on the Internet that isn't through your corporate VPN tunnel can be read by anyone close by.
Zaf
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