Securing my PC at a Wireless Hotspot?

[Chip Panarchy <forumanarchy () gmail com>]

Hello

You've probably been to a café before that offered WiFi via a Wireless
Hotspot. Or maybe you've been to an airport that had some hotspots?
Well whatever the case, I'm sure you've seen a Public Wireless
Hotspot. Or, at the very least, heard of them.

So my question to you is, NOT on how to secure the Wireless Hotspot,
but rather on how to go about securing my connection to the hotspot.

So, how do I secure my PC at a Wireless Hotspot?

Would there be a way to have 256-bit AES or 256-bit Camellia
encryption on all outgoing traffic?

Or would you recommend a different method?

If this is of any use, I will be using the following laptop: Dell
Inspiron 700m. I will be running either Ubuntu 8.10 or Windows XP
(though probably XP, since I get better battery life).

Can I please have some recommendations on what I need to add onto my
Windows XP installation in order to encrypt my connection to the
Wireless Hotspot?

Thanks in advance,

Chip D. Panarchy