safety

Hello
I have a laptop with Norton's Security Suite. I have an internalwirelesss card and at home I am behind a router.
We are going for a trip and wondered if we should use the pc while in the car or at hotels etc. I guess you are as safe as the administrator so that makes it dangerous relying ohot spotsts.
Are there any tips you can give to make our pcing while traveling a little safer or should we just leave it home? We are not really techy like addressing "ports" and hard settings etc.
We do not want to pay for a Verizon or ATT card for the week we are gone.
It would be great if there was an administrator you could use and trust for a pay as you go or a week's time.
Anyway, bottom line, would you use your pc with this suite while traveling?
Thank you

I would Disable file and printer sharing. Other than that I wouldn't worry about it.
Make sure you have a good backup at home before you leave. Worst case if you do pick up something nasty, restore the backup when you get home.

I will disable this when we go, and the backup is a great idea.. May I ask if it is a good idea to keep this disabled unless it is necassary to use? I noticed there is a public setting beneathit - they are both enabled by default. Should I disable this also? When you send a file to another pc do you need to enabe remote? Is there a simple safe wafe way to share or send a file from one pc to the other? Just this am I had to use a flash drive to get one file from the laptop to the desktop -sort of rudimentary. I obviously have had no experience with networking except the TeamViewer and setting up the router, if they can be considered networking. I will read up on this subject and look forward to hearing from you. Thank you

If you're behind a router then you are okay. Ir's only when you go out in public (so to speak) that you need to be careful. Disabling F&P sharing and perhaps setting Public to it;'s highest value should be sufficient. Just make sure you have a good backup before you leave, just in case.

Ztruker's recommendations and advice are sensible, as usual. I'm more skeptical because I'd also recommend to not use hotspots for: Business Banking Purchases Reservations And Bummer of Bummers, I would abstain from any Social Network posting, for instance at Facebook, linkedin, etc. Real-time tracking of public Social Network posts advertise that you are not home. Maybe my comments above go without saying, and both of you already would play it safe. I just returned from a driving visit to my Sister a couple of states away. Because I also had "business" to monitor and conduct while on the road, I purchased a pay-as-you-go wireless access. 10 days (5 hrs) 10,000 emails for only $10 US Unlimited 3G for 30 days - $50 US I bought the Unlimited. (and my Son is still enjoying it for the next 3 weeks.) It was a cool experience to have internet access even while driving. There were "no" areas where access was dropped or lost, even in the relatively rural location of the home we visited.

Was this a Cricket and did you know about administartive security? The rates sound reasonable.

Virgin Mobile (uses Sprint network access) Don't know what you are referring to: Administrative Security

Virgin Mobile (uses Sprint network access)

Don't know what you are referring to: Administrative Security

I thought of my self as the administartor of my machine and the same of a company like ATT or a bankwhere someone is in chage of security settings..

Still unclear as to your reference: Administrative Security Sure each owner/user is responsible for security settings. If the machine you refer to is running XP, then it is recommended that you create a Limited User Account from which to perform most of your daily computing.

Public hot spots all have one thing in common—they are open networks that are vulnerable to security breaches. Because they do not encrypt data, your passwords, email messages, and other information can be visible to hackers. That means it's up to you to be aware of wireless hot spot security and to protect the data on your PC or mobile device.

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/remotely/hotspots.aspx

Public hot spots all have one thing in common—they are open networks that are vulnerable to security breaches. Because they do not encrypt data, your passwords, email messages, and other information can be visible to hackers. That means it's up to you to be aware of wireless hot spot security and to protect the data on your PC or mobile device.

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/remotely/hotspots.aspx

It is a good thing my question about administartive security was ill defined as I learned from back peddling to it.
I meant to say that your security is only as good as the administartor setting the security for your computer, and them some. An example would be me setting my router to WEP as oppsed to WPA.
I know the example is rudimentary but I was asking if the security with some of these online pay as you go cards is effective. Is there encryption, packet writing, nat translation etc.
I think I have concluded, unless necessary, it is best to disable the wireless capacity of the pc until you are behind your router.
I hope I did a better job the second time around and thank you for the referral.
Peter

Peter,

This may provide some enlightenment regarding use of a pre-paid mobile broadband access such as what I used last week.
http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/mobile-b…d-security.html

Peter,

This may provide some enlightenment regarding use of a pre-paid mobile broadband access such as what I used last week.
http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/mobile-b…d-security.html

HI Doug, The reading you provided was very informative. Did I understand the bottom line to be, if you have a major communications card -ATT or Verizon, it is secured with encyption etc and relatively safe to use behind Norton, in this instance?
Even then there is always a risk but this is the best way to stay as safe as possible.
I think I disable internet by using the connections choices in the control panel rather than clicking on 'file' then "work offline". I tied the latter but still had internet and no red crosses.

Doug To disable my pc from being online and vulnerable, go to "wireless network connection" and either 'disable' or disconnect'? To regain access, reverse this?

Subscribing to a paid broadband mobile connection is similar but not the same as connecting from your home ISP.
Your mobile connection dongle essentially connects via "radio" the same way a cell phone does.
In this case you would be connecting to the mobile ISP's router and you would be assigned an IP (sort of)
The mobile provider will have encryption and security features much like your home ISP does, and you could only connect with your subscription name and password.

That's way more secure than connecting to an unsecured, un-password protected public hotspot where others can "see" your connection and more easily hack it, or divert you to a fake look-alike network.

But when all is said and done, Ztruker has posted the most sensible information and described how millions of folks successfully use free hotspot connections…. as long as you are not conducting business or banking or using password protected sites to which you are a member.

The internet is a risky environment.
Free public hotspots add to that risk.

I selected to purchase a mobile broadband for two reasons…

— I knew I would be conducting business
— I wanted any-time all-the-time access without having to drive to a coffee shop