We work with an open Wi-Fi network: safety rules

Now, in many hotels and bars have free Wi-Fi network, and many visitors are tempted work, sitting over a cup of coffee, or a banal check email, post it something in twitter or facebook. How great the temptation, and the likelihood that you can descend to the "uninvited guests".

By following the tips below you will be able to use public Wi-Fi networks and remain secure.

Turn off the distribution files

When you work at home with the Wi-Fi network, you can safely share files on your computer and open the printer access for computers that are in your grid. In public places better to disable this option.

WindowsOpen the Control Panel, then go to networks and the Internet - Control Center Network and Sharing Center, hereinafter Click on the Choose homegroup and sharing options - Change advanced sharing settings. Here you have to turn off access to files and printers, turn off the search network and access shared folders. Some of these operations are performed automatically Windows, if you have designated this as a public grid.

Mac OS X: Go into System Preferences, make sure that all the check marks have been removed. There also need to go if you want to turn off the search network. After these steps, your computer will not be visible on the network. On Windows, this is just another check mark in the additional access settings. In Mac OS X it will be called "stealth mode", which is located in the firewall settings.

Setting Firewall

Now almost all operating systems come with at least the easiest firewall, so adjust it so that nobody else could get into your computer. In principle, the security settings can be configured automatically, but check it's worth. Path on Windows: Control Panel - System and Security - the Windows Firewall; in Mac: System Preferences - Security - Firewall. You can also configure the firewall so that some programs or updates have open access to your your computer by clicking on "Allow a program through the firewall" on Windows, OS X need to go into further settings.

Use SSL whenever possible

Traffic exchange with sites via HTTP is not encrypted, and if you have opredelnnye skills, you can easily steal a piece. If it's just information that is available to the public - do not worry. It is much worse when it's your passwords and keys. Using HTTPS (for web browsing) or SSL (when you use applications that need access to interenet, for example, mail client) encrypt data that pass between your computer and this website service.

Some sites do this automatically, but it is better to follow the line with address and be sure that the «s» in «https» always there when you exchange information. When she disappeared, better immediately log out. The other default sites worth HTTP, but you can manually type HTTPS.

If you use the mail clients such as Outlook or Mail.app, make sure your account is encrypted using SSL. If not, then other people can easily read your letters, know your username and password and much more. Therefore, it is necessary to make sure that e-mail program that you use, support SSL, if not, it is better not to use them in the networks shared.

We use a virtual private network

Unfortunately, not all sites offer to use SSL. And if you still need to visit such sites, it is better to use a connection through a VPN or virtual private network. These services allow you to work in a public Wi-Fi network as if you are working in a private network.

Turn off access to the network when not using it

If you want to garanitrovat security when you are not using the internet, it is better just to disconnect at this time from a public Wi-Fi network. It is very easy in Windows, and to a Mac. On Mac, just click on the Wi-Fi icon and select "turn off AirPort option." In Windows, you just need to click the right mouse button on the wireless connection icon and disable it.

How to make automatic security settings of your public Wi-Fi network

If you do not want every time to manually configure the security of your Wi-Fi network, you can make them automatic.

In Windows

When you want to connect to any network based on Windows, whether you are at home, at work or in a cafe, in any case, you will be asked about the settings. At any of these locations offers a list of options. General settings give you the greatest security. You can manually configure all that you need for the adaptation of places where you most often use a common Wi-Fi network. To do this, you need to open Control Panel - Network and Internet - Choose homegroup and sharing options. From there you can turn on or off for different profiles for a network distribution files and open access to folders and printers.

In this case, you can use the program NetSetMen.

In Mac OS X

Here you do not have a large number of options for automatic network configuration, but AirPort loction do whatever you want, and more. With it, you can turn on your firewall, turn off your SMPT e-mail, connect to the VPN and many different options, depending on the LAN to which you want to connect. You can even change the background of your desktop, depending on whether connected to a grid.

In your browser

Expansion of FireFox HTTPS Everywhere will automatically select HTTPS security for most popular sites, including the New York Times, Facebook, Google Search, etc. You can even add your own XML file config. This extension works on Windows, Mac and Linux.