Quote:
Originally Posted by ajbrown
They used the term 'open network' which is an issue you must consider. You are now on a public network potentially not protected by an external firewall. All protection must be done by your local firewall on your PC.
Any other computer on that network (and potentially beyond) can initiate a connection to you. It will be up to your local firewall to reject it. So before connecting to any public network, make sure your operating system is patched and the firewall is ON and setup to reject inbound connections.
Where else is a public network that people do not think of? Your Comcast cable modem. If you connect directly to the modem you are on the Internet and folks can and will find your computer. I always install a router (FW) between my computer(s) and the cable modem. Hopefully the router-FW is secure  |
I do to AJ. I'm a "bit" surprised at the lax security attitudes expressed. I use public networks only with a laptop that doesn't have sensitive data on it. Use router for my home computer. Routers are inexpensive-- especially compared with identity theft.