Re: Wireless Security

[krymson () gmail com]

Just to properly frame this situation, you have two (mostly) separate needs. Traffic security and network security.

Your IPCop setup will help keep people from browsing your systems or network. Any router, NAT device, or firewall 
should do that trick, unless you badly munge the install. :) That's the easy part!

The traffic security will be harder, since you live in this location, meaning you're not just doing a small set of 
things while there. Likely you're doing everything over that open wireless network. You definitely want to look into 
some service (free or not) that you can connect to and tunnel all your sessions over it. Of course, this will increase 
your latency, but I'd prefer that over an insecure network, personally.

If you have a remote buddy, I think you could connect your network and his together using IPCop and a VPN connection. 
Then all your traffic would tunnel through him. You'd still have latency and you'd have to trust your friend, but again 
that's preferable to that wireless network.

Better yet, spring for your own dedicated internet connection and leave the wireless alone. :)



<- snip ->
Well, the main reason that triggered my sending this question was
getting shocked at what I could see of other people just by browsing
"Network Neighborhood"! Some people have waaaaaay too much
visible/readable. Fortunately, my own two Laptops aren't permitting
any incomming connections, but that still doesn't protect me from any
dedicated hacker, or my data flow.
Anyway, I fly home this weekend so I'll setup an IPCop Firewall VPN at
home (http://thinkhole.org/wp/2006/03/28/ipcop-openvpn-howto/) - I've
been wanting to do that for sometime just to access my home network,
but now this makes the need even greater and more serious. Also means
I can access UK-only websites directly.
If it doesn't workout the way I want, then I'll just continue to use
Hot Spot Shield and just put up with their ads...

Thanks to all,
ys