computer Security on an Unsecured WIFI Network

[Granny60]

 I've typed this up so many times this year ( yes it is still 010 here)  that I thought I would  post it and maybe keep from having to type the info again. Hope  some of you find it useful.

 I only use Mozilla Firefox as a browser because 90% of the hacks, malware,  tracking bots, etc. are written for Internet Explorer and it is hard to manually avoid that crap on IEx.
Mozilla firefox is a free browser download.

do not use the auto fill in on your computer and do not ever click remember password on your computer or anyone can use your passwords when you are on an unsecured network unless you take carefull measures.  If you have a password manager such as in Norton 360, log out of it and manually  enter passwords when you do log in's so some asshole can't access all your passwords. I know it is tough to remember  so many log in ID's and passwords,  but use different log in names and passwords for different accounts, so if your password is hijacked,  it can't be used on your other accounts .  Don't use your name and birth date, which many people use and have posted on their facebook page.

From Mozilla firefox Start page at the top of the page are button tabs.
Click:  Tools> Options> Privacy
Uncheck these:   Remember download history, Remember search and form, Accept 3rd party cookies.

Check : clear history when firefox closes.  that will clear things when you close out a link  by hitting the x

Whenever you leave a site that you had to log in a password,  Click: tools> options> Privacy>  Show cookies

Highlight ( click on it and it will auto highlight)  any  place you have logged into and  click Remove Cookies  and  even if someone gets into your computer, they will have to know your log in passwords to get back into your account such as email or ebay.  this also gets rid of tracking most bots .  If you  click Tools,> Options>  Privacy>  Clear Recent history,   it will also remove anything that is listed in the www. browser bar at the top of the page.   Anyway,  any time you leave ebay , yahoo,   your flicker account,  whatever,  remove the cookies and nobody including you can  get back into your account without signing back in.  It is easy to get the hang of it.  I do it all day long.  just a few clicks and it makes your computer faster when all this stuff is cleared out.  I have seen computers that literally had 1,000 or more cookies.  Having accept 3rd party cookies checked allows you to get ads from all kinds of  related companies.  Say you look for windshield wipers,  then you will start getting car and tire ads.

[mecch]

Thanks for the heads up.
I spent 2010 without browsing histories or password memory. It was a pain when I started but as you say once you adjust, no big deal.

[Hoover]

Granny,

(you are too young to be called that!)
Thanks for the tips, it never hurts to be secure.

To avoid many issues we have gone Mac.
It is a bitch switching from one system to the other and I miss many of the easy features of PC, but there are less problems. Imagine your computer starting up immediately and not crashing....
Maybe some day I can figure out the Mac's damn art programs.

Cheers,
Hoover and Dr. T

[mecch]

I am on MAC and I still avoid cookies and browsing histories.

[Miss Philicia]

I don't

[Assurbanipal]

Actually, you can do all of that automatically in Internet Explorer these days if you use the "In Private Browsing" feature.  It is under the Tools menu in IE8.  There's a description here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Keep-your-surfing-to-yourself

One of the nice features is that it keeps the cookies and other info until you close the in-private browser session and only then wipes them out.  So if you are mainly in a secure location you can keep your private session open for days and have all the convenience of stored passwords etc, but know that when you close out the session you will have erased them. 

And it does keep the machine faster without all of those extra page views -- I find I'm using it most of the time now unless I really want to save something on the machine.

[littleprince]

Sorry, but removing cookies after you've visited a website won't even protect you from 10% of the threats out there. Do a google on Firesheep. A simple, free program which lets you capture other peoples passwords for sites like Facebook when accessed over unsecured wifi.

[Granny60]

 I would prefer not to tell people how they can steal passwords and log in's,  but rather how to reduce vulnerability. Anyway,   you can read more about Firesheep here:   http://blogs.computerworld.com/17228/firesheep_firefox_extension_opens_fire_on_sheep_browsers  Yes IE has made a number of security improvements in the last few years,  but the past was enough  to  make me fed up with them years ago.  PRIVATE  browsing is also an option on Mozilla firefox.

 When ever you don't have a picture of a lock  on your page,  you may be vulnerable,  but bottom line is more and more people are having to use freeware for security and wifi connections because they cannot afford to pay the costs of a private internet connection.