Is sensitive info secure in public places?

Hi -
I'm new to wi-fi and home networking, so I'm probably too ignorant to even
ask a question. I have a concern, though, that I'd appreciate your help
with. I just bought a new wi-fi equipped laptop, and I plan on taking it on
a trip. If I go into a place that provides wireless internet service, are
my passwords, bank account information, and other private data on my machine
accessible to hackers? Someone told me that I could be sitting in
McDonald's surfing the web, and a hacker could be at another table or even
outside the building stealing everything on my computer. If I were to log
into my checking account, could someone else get my account number or
password? What should I do before using the internet in a public place?
Thanks in advance for your help. ......Pam

On 15-Sep-2005, " Pam" <per1818@nospam.planttel.net> wrote:

<snipped>

> What should I do before using the internet in a public place?
> Thanks in advance for your help. ......Pam

Pam, to directly answer your question, if you are going to be using these
public hot spots, it is recommended that you disable file and print sharing
on your computer. Doing that will keep the casual snooper from gaining
access to your files and folders. Also, I recommend that you keep your web
surfing to a minimum, i.e., webmail, casual browsing, games, et al. I do not
recommend doing any internet banking and other money related transactions
while in a public hot spot. Anyway, I hope I was of some help to you. Take
care.

--
Just Me, D

> surfing to a minimum, i.e., webmail, casual browsing, games, et al. I do not
> recommend doing any internet banking and other money related transactions
> while in a public hot spot. Anyway, I hope I was of some help to you. Take

Any financial transaction should be on a page protected by SSL. Opening
the certificate and checking the authenticity and certificate chain
would be a good start. There's a potential to create alarm and paranoia
without explaining that such transactions *should* be protected, it's
not like it's all in the clear and instantly sniffable.

If XP, turning on the local firewall or using a third party one is a
good idea too.

David.

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005 19:20:39 +0000, Pam wrote:

> Hi -
> I'm new to wi-fi and home networking, so I'm probably too ignorant to even
> ask a question. I have a concern, though, that I'd appreciate your help
> with. I just bought a new wi-fi equipped laptop, and I plan on taking it on
> a trip. If I go into a place that provides wireless internet service, are
> my passwords, bank account information, and other private data on my machine
> accessible to hackers? Someone told me that I could be sitting in
> McDonald's surfing the web, and a hacker could be at another table or even
> outside the building stealing everything on my computer. If I were to log
> into my checking account, could someone else get my account number or
> password? What should I do before using the internet in a public place?
> Thanks in advance for your help. ......Pam

A hacker can obtain your passwords and other info by "sniffing" your
packets unless you are using some form of encryption. Odds are that your
bank establishes an encrypted link with your PC so I wouldn't worry too
much about your bank passwords or financial data being intercepted via
packet sniffing. You should see a closed lock displayed in your browser to
indicate an SSL encrypted web page. Mozilla Firefox changes the URL field
background to yellow to indicate an encrypted link also. I don't think IE
does that.

On 15-Sep-2005, David Taylor <djtaylor@bigfoot.com> wrote:

> Any financial transaction should be on a page protected by SSL. Opening
> the certificate and checking the authenticity and certificate chain
> would be a good start. There's a potential to create alarm and paranoia
> without explaining that such transactions *should* be protected, it's
> not like it's all in the clear and instantly sniffable.

I'm fully aware SSL transactions. That little tidbit that I posted for Pam
was of a personal nature. In other words, It's an old habit I've maintained
from the early days of personal computing. To this day, I do all of my
financial transactions via ethernet. I apologize for not explaining in
detail earlier. Take care.

--
Just Me, D

Thanks, guys. I really appreciate the information. ........Pam
" Pam" <per1818@nospam.planttel.net> wrote in message
news:bQjWe.332173$_o.14672@attbi_s71...
> Hi -
> I'm new to wi-fi and home networking, so I'm probably too ignorant to even
> ask a question. I have a concern, though, that I'd appreciate your help
> with. I just bought a new wi-fi equipped laptop, and I plan on taking it
> on a trip. If I go into a place that provides wireless internet service,
> are my passwords, bank account information, and other private data on my
> machine accessible to hackers? Someone told me that I could be sitting in
> McDonald's surfing the web, and a hacker could be at another table or even
> outside the building stealing everything on my computer. If I were to log
> into my checking account, could someone else get my account number or
> password? What should I do before using the internet in a public place?
> Thanks in advance for your help. ......Pam
>