questions about privacy

I know about setting up the router with a password for only wireless devices
that one would own. My question is If I access a free wifi point would
someone beable to look in my pc since I would be connected to the network or
is that not the same like one if internet only and one is a workgroup
working wirelessly. Thanks for the reply.

On Thu, 6 Jul 2006 01:49:53 -0500, "acer88" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote
in <(E-Mail Removed)>:

>I know about setting up the router with a password for only wireless devices
>that one would own. My question is If I access a free wifi point would
>someone beable to look in my pc since I would be connected to the network or
>is that not the same like one if internet only and one is a workgroup
>working wirelessly. Thanks for the reply.

When you are on a free Wi-Fi hotspot, *all* of your wireless traffic is
exposed unless you encrypt it with SSL, VPN, etc.

In addition, your computer may be exposed to attacks from other
computers on the wireless LAN, so it should be protected with a good
software firewall, and any shares should be protected with strong
passwords.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

"acer88" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>If I access a free wifi point would
>someone beable to look in my pc since I would be connected to the network

Yes, any time you are using a free (or open) AP, you'll want at the
very least a firewall, and optimally a firewall and a VPN to someplace
trusted.

>"acer88" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I know about setting up the router with a password for only wireless devices
>that one would own. My question is If I access a free wifi point would
>someone beable to look in my pc since I would be connected to the network or
>is that not the same like one if internet only and one is a workgroup
>working wirelessly. Thanks for the reply.
>

Note that financial sites will have an "https" URL. Your traffic to and
from those sites is secure even on unsecured WiFi networks. Others can
see your traffic, but it will be encrypted.

--
Dave