I recently purchased a laptop so that I could more conveniently use my computer in my house. I'm using a Netgear wi-fi hub with a firewall. Is the information on my computer, or that which I provide, say a credit card on an e-comm site, safe while using my laptop in such a scenario? What can I do to insure that my computer activities can not be seen or tracked?
2006-12-02 03:46:03 · 4 answers · asked by S L 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Security
You need to at least enable encryption, and be aware that, even though it is probably highly unlikely, someone could capture your communication between your laptop and wireless hub, and with enough packets there is the potential to figure out the encryption key and get to the data. Though with higher levels of encryption it would theoretically take years for the fastest consumer PC's to crack the encryption. Without encryption, someone could easily capture your packets and see everything you are doing.
2006-12-02 03:57:22 · answer #1 · answered by sterno73 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In addition, do not advertise your SSID, turn on encryption using a strong keyphrase, and restrict access to your MAC address. Run a software firewall on your laptop. Windows firewall is good, but I would do something like zonealarm for 2-way, address, and application specific protection
Now, since this is going out on the air, it can be seen, and it can be hacked. There is NOTHING you can do to totally prevent this. But, you can keep out the kiddies by doing the above.
Credit card info is relatively safe as the encryption key is generated only when you enter the secure connection via https.
Tracking as in any case on the net, is totally possible. If you have something to hide, you need disposable laptops and a mix of cyber cafe's all around the world.
2006-12-02 11:55:36 · answer #2 · answered by orlandobillybob 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you enter your credit card number to any website, be sure that the url starts with https-s-is the key factor here. When there is an s after http, it means the website is secure. You also should see a padlock, at the top of the page, if using ie-7, or at the bottom when using ie-6..good luck..
2006-12-02 12:52:54 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, your wireless should be encrpyted.
2006-12-02 11:47:02 · answer #4 · answered by Webballs 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋