Securing laptop for park-bench hot spots (newbie question)

Increasingly, municipalities are offering free hot spot internet connections
in city parks. Philadelphia has four so far, with more planned.

How should I configure my Windows XP laptop to secure it for use in this
type of public area?

I have no background in wi-fi, and I have found the info published on the
web overwhelmingly comprehensive. What I am looking for is a simple
recommendation for client-side settings for an XP laptop in an environment
where I have no knowledge of or control over server or access point
security. I want to close off all peer-to-peer access, and securely
encrypt client-to-gateway transmissions.

I realize that no security measures (especially in a public wireless
environment) is 100%, but what is the best that I can do, and what are the
remaining vulnerabilities?

If there is an FAQ that lists the recommended settings, kindly point me to
it.

David D.

 

In a Hot SPot, you will not be able to encrypt or set any type of peer to
peer security settings, with an exception of a firewall program.

 

Hi

Wireless security is a Point to specific point security.

I.e. The source and the client have to be configured with the exact same
security parameters.

When you use public Spots you can not configure ant Wireless security since
the source is not under your control.

Beside a good Firewall I would suggest to Switch Off File sharing in the
laptop. Doing so will protect your files from being coincidently exposed to
the Network.

Jack (MVP-Networking).

 

Download the lastest service pack (SP2). Turn on the
firewall and disable the file/print sharing. Also
download Spybot Search and Destroy. Turn on the TeaTimer
as this monitors your registry so that if someone does
bypass your firewall, any time someone tries to edit you
registry it will warn you.