How do I stay safe in an internet cafe?

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definitely do not do anything that has to do with payments, money, credit cards, etc.. Just surf the net.

Thanks for all you do. To log onto gmail through an https connection, I will soon be traveling on a cruise ship which will probably have a wifi connection but if not I know it has connections on its own computers. How do I use an https connection in that circumstance?

Thanks Leo....that is great advice! I sent a copy to my wife, who uses her laptop more frequently these days.
With all that is 'out there' it is good to know there are proper measures that can be applied to get the technological security necessary:-)

Earthlink's webmail system uses HTTPS all the time. Some webmail systems only use it for the login page, but not for reading and writing individual messages. Gmail will use HTTPS all the time, but only if you start out making an HTTPS request initially.

The need for safety with a wireless network is obvious. However, many people are not aware of the need for safety when plugging into a wired Ethernet connection in a hotel room. For more on that see my blog
Ethernet connections in a hotel room are not secure
http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13554_1-9854369-33.html

"Definitely do not do anything that has to do with payments, money, credit cards, etc.. Just surf the net." This is nonsense propagated by those who really do not understand various types of encryption and their proper uese. As Leo said, if you have an SSL (https) connection you don't need any further encryption. And you won't have any problems with credit card transactions or banking issues, whether wired or wireless. Again, as Leo said, it's "everything else" you do on the Internet that will be easily sniffed by a hacker (even a casual one)in a wireless environment. I started using HotSpotVPN several months ago and I'm very satisfied with the results. They are the only reasonably priced VPN service that I know of that offer client based SSL type VPN that is more secure and stable than the Open VPN services that use the XP based system. And you have three levels of security to select from. Now I use hot spots anywhere with full AES encryption for ALL my Internet usage. Great peace of mind.

Now that I am aware of the need for httpS, can I not change my gmail account to its use?

We here a lot about the ethics of Piggybacking from one's home onto an "unsecured" network and also the safety of those who "own" the account.
But, what about those who do the Piggybacking? Is it safe for us??
If someone leaves his network unsecured could they possibly be doing it on purpose to "sniff"?

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I won't speak to the ethics, but I can certainly comment on
the RISK of using someone else's WiFi. YES, the owner of the
network you happen to be piggybacking on could monitor what
you're doing, and YES they could be doing it on purpoase.
I've certainly heard of exactly that happening - someonen
setting up a wireless access point in a public spot, and
then sniffing on whomever happens to connect.

Leo

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hi, my sister has a wireless internet accross the road i would say less than 100m. is it possible to connect to conect to the same internet? is there any usb that covers the range of 100m to connect to the wireless internet connection? please reply Thanks

Few more public wi-fi security tips at:

http://www.freewifihotspotsoftware.com/security_tips.html

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