Securing PC for use with public networks

[Nuclear Krusader]

Heya,

Some customer phoned wanting to know if there's a way she can use her Vista laptop in an RV park that has only public Wi-Fi available without people snooping in on her online activities which include banking and stuff like that. How would one go about securing this computer?

TIA for any useful input.

[Force Flow]

HTTPS traffic is *usually* fine on public wifi, but there are still risks because of various exploits and hacks that can get around that either by posing as a DNS or DHCP server on the wifi network, or by infecting the machine and capturing the information on it.

HTTP traffic is in the clear. For example, logging into a forum, the username and password is sent in the clear. Using facebook authentication or openID is usually protected with SSL.

If she uses a mail client, it's best to either use HTTPS webmail or secure the POP/SMTP or IMAP connection with SSL, otherwise everything will be sent in the clear.

She should also turn off file sharing, enable the firewall, invest in top-tier AV/malware protection (bitdefender comes to mind), and disconnect from the wifi connection when not in use.

There's also the option of subscribing to a VPN service, but that usually costs somewhere around $40-$100 per year. In theory, that would be the most secure approach, but you would be routing all your traffic through that service. I am unfamiliar with the reputations of the various VPN service providers out there, so I can't offer any personal recommendations.

[Nuclear Krusader]

I was initially thinking of a good firewall such as Comodo, and VPN came to mind, but I have no experience with the latter and that's actually what I was hoping I'd receive input and help with here.

(That's not to say what you said sux, Foarce. Your mention of HTTPS will make me recommend FF and that plugin whose name escapes me know that forces sites to use always SSL.)

[Force Flow]

Any firewall will work, even the default windows firewall. 3rd-party firewalls just give you more advanced options, logs, reports, and granular control.

Here's the firefox HTTPS plugin: https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere

The plugin isn't a cure-all. Most sites don't even have HTTPS available to enable.