Is there a firewall in most wireless cafes?

When I take my laptop to a wireless cafe, is it connecting to
the internet directly through the wireless router or does the cafe
computer have to have the firewall set up so that it doesn't interfere???

thanks

marcy wrote:
> When I take my laptop to a wireless cafe, is it connecting to
> the internet directly through the wireless router or does the cafe
> computer have to have the firewall set up so that it doesn't interfere?

I'm not sure what you mean by "interfere," but you should assume that
you'll be connected directly to the Internet and secure your machine
accordingly. That means have a firewall of your own installed, or at
the very least enable the built-in one your operating system provides,
and make sure your anti-malware programs and security patches are up to
date. Oh, and if you haven't already, turn *off* file and printer
sharing on your wireless connection if you're running Windows.

A firewall can only protect you from intrusion, not interception or
delivery of malware through "drive-by" website attacks or other nasties.
Besides, even if the hotspot you're using has one, how do you know
what it's configured to defend against? That's right-you *don't.* So
just pretend it isn't there and take responsibility for your own
protection. Security is a job you shouldn't outsource.

"marcy" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>When I take my laptop to a wireless cafe, is it connecting to
>the internet directly through the wireless router or does the cafe
>computer have to have the firewall set up so that it doesn't interfere???

What are you trying to accomplish that the firewall might be a
problem?

If you're trying to run a server, peer to peer file sharing, or
Bitorrent application that requires port forwarding (or port
triggering) to operate, forget it. You're not suppose to be doing
that anyway at a coffee shop. Also, there's no way any sane coffee
shop is going to be running a DMZ (wide open port forwarding) to a
dynamic IP address that happens to be on the wireless LAN. That's
just plain dumb and only works to a single IP address anyway.

The typical firewall is more like a brick wall. Your stuff can go
out, but nothing can go in from the internet. The only exception are
dumb wireless router vendors who still don't understand that UPnP
should not be enabled by default. If your coffee shop has UPnP
enabled, it will automatically punch holes in the firewall for your
application. The most common example is MSN Messenger.

I think (not sure) that this application reports if UPnP is enabled.
<http://www.microsoft.com/windows/using/tools/igd/default.mspx>
I can't try it from here because it doesn't support W2K.
Note that it takes about 10=15 minutes to run.


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"marcy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:FEOpi.11631$(E-Mail Removed).. .
> When I take my laptop to a wireless cafe, is it connecting to
> the internet directly through the wireless router or does the cafe
> computer have to have the firewall set up so that it doesn't interfere???
>

If you have a good connection to the Internet, then that's all you need to
know. You need to know that, and know that you need to be running a personal
firewall on your machine to protect it on a foreign network.

It actually is a office debate. One person started by saying that the wifi
(at the local deli)
would not have a firewall assoicated with it but that any computer that goes
into
the deli goes straight out to the world with no restrictions. Another
person in the
office disagreed. I got to thinking about that and was wondering if that
were true.

Then I go to wondering if I could use my laptop as a client to my office
computer
as the host using PCAnyWhere. I would not do it at this deli because it is
just
around the corner from the office. But I am curious if it would work from
any
wifi cafe when I have to travel.

"marcy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:7tbqi.17716$(E-Mail Removed). ..
> It actually is a office debate. One person started by saying that the
> wifi (at the local deli)
> would not have a firewall assoicated with it but that any computer that
> goes into
> the deli goes straight out to the world with no restrictions. Another
> person in the
> office disagreed. I got to thinking about that and was wondering if that
> were true.
>
> Then I go to wondering if I could use my laptop as a client to my office
> computer
> as the host using PCAnyWhere. I would not do it at this deli because it
> is just
> around the corner from the office. But I am curious if it would work from
> any
> wifi cafe when I have to travel.

No, it's not going to work if a firewall solution or even a router using NAT
is the gateway device to the Internet, because they are NOT going to port
forward ports for your machine for something like PCAW, which must have
certain ports opened/port forwarded for the commutations between machines
using PCAW. And I don't think they would put your machine into the DMZ
either.

http://www.homenethelp.com/web/expla...arding-dmz.asp

"Mr. Arnold" <MR. (E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>
>"marcy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:7tbqi.17716$(E-Mail Removed) ...
>> It actually is a office debate. One person started by saying that the
>> wifi (at the local deli)
>> would not have a firewall assoicated with it but that any computer that
>> goes into
>> the deli goes straight out to the world with no restrictions. Another
>> person in the
>> office disagreed. I got to thinking about that and was wondering if that
>> were true.
>>
>> Then I go to wondering if I could use my laptop as a client to my office
>> computer
>> as the host using PCAnyWhere. I would not do it at this deli because it
>> is just
>> around the corner from the office. But I am curious if it would work from
>> any
>> wifi cafe when I have to travel.

>No, it's not going to work if a firewall solution or even a router using NAT
>is the gateway device to the Internet, because they are NOT going to port
>forward ports for your machine for something like PCAW, which must have
>certain ports opened/port forwarded for the commutations between machines
>using PCAW. And I don't think they would put your machine into the DMZ
>either.
>
>http://www.homenethelp.com/web/expla...arding-dmz.asp

I beg to differ half way. You're absolutely correct about requiring
port forwarding for a PC Anywhere *SERVER*. However, the PC Anywhere
client will work just fine behind a firewall. My firewall on my home
router doesn't have anything special setup for PC Anywhere. I'm not
connected to a customers machine via PC Anywhere. No problems.

What's missing in the description is how PC Anywhere is configured at
the office. If it's running on her desktop computer, then the office
router must be configured to forward 5631/5632 as previously
described. However, there's nothing required on the cafe router.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"Mr. Arnold" <MR. (E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:GCcqi.12393$(E-Mail Removed) link.net...
>
> No, it's not going to work if a firewall solution or even a router using
> NAT is the gateway device to the Internet, because they are NOT going to
> port forward ports for your machine for something like PCAW, which must
> have certain ports opened/port forwarded for the commutations between
> machines using PCAW. And I don't think they would put your machine into
> the DMZ either.
>
> http://www.homenethelp.com/web/expla...arding-dmz.asp


Thanks, handy article!!!

"Jeff Liebermann" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Mr. Arnold" <MR. (E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:
>



> I beg to differ half way. You're absolutely correct about requiring
> port forwarding for a PC Anywhere *SERVER*. However, the PC Anywhere
> client will work just fine behind a firewall. My firewall on my home
> router doesn't have anything special setup for PC Anywhere. I'm not
> connected to a customers machine via PC Anywhere. No problems.
>
> What's missing in the description is how PC Anywhere is configured at
> the office. If it's running on her desktop computer, then the office
> router must be configured to forward 5631/5632 as previously
> described. However, there's nothing required on the cafe router.
>

Thanks again Jeff. I just had the office setup with static IP and I will
forward
those ports (hopefully today if the static IP situation has been taken care
of).

"Jeff Liebermann" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Mr. Arnold" <MR. (E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:
>
>>
>>"marcy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>news:7tbqi.17716$(E-Mail Removed) t...
>>> It actually is a office debate. One person started by saying that the
>>> wifi (at the local deli)
>>> would not have a firewall assoicated with it but that any computer that
>>> goes into
>>> the deli goes straight out to the world with no restrictions. Another
>>> person in the
>>> office disagreed. I got to thinking about that and was wondering if
>>> that
>>> were true.
>>>
>>> Then I go to wondering if I could use my laptop as a client to my office
>>> computer
>>> as the host using PCAnyWhere. I would not do it at this deli because it
>>> is just
>>> around the corner from the office. But I am curious if it would work
>>> from
>>> any
>>> wifi cafe when I have to travel.
>
>>No, it's not going to work if a firewall solution or even a router using
>>NAT
>>is the gateway device to the Internet, because they are NOT going to port
>>forward ports for your machine for something like PCAW, which must have
>>certain ports opened/port forwarded for the commutations between machines
>>using PCAW. And I don't think they would put your machine into the DMZ
>>either.
>>
>>http://www.homenethelp.com/web/expla...arding-dmz.asp
>
> I beg to differ half way. You're absolutely correct about requiring
> port forwarding for a PC Anywhere *SERVER*. However, the PC Anywhere
> client will work just fine behind a firewall. My firewall on my home
> router doesn't have anything special setup for PC Anywhere. I'm not
> connected to a customers machine via PC Anywhere. No problems.

Well, I was not thinking about that part of it on the clinet side *only*.
and you're correct.
>
> What's missing in the description is how PC Anywhere is configured at
> the office. If it's running on her desktop computer, then the office
> router must be configured to forward 5631/5632 as previously
> described. However, there's nothing required on the cafe router.

But on the other hand, if I was admin in a wireless cafe, those ports would
be blocked so that it couldn't happen from a client period. I wouldn't want
someone sucking up bandwidth like that.