Expert: Jeff Laatsch - 12/8/2009

Question
Jeff,

Thanks so much for volunteering your time and talents on this site.  I am a novice when it comes to Internet security, so forgive me if my questions sound a bit naive.  I have two questions for you.

1. If I'm connected to an unsecured wireless network, but need to access a secure site (such as my university's course management system or my MSOutlook exchange email account), when I login, are my password and User ID secure?

2. If I use my flash drive, are the files on it secure?  The drive itself is not encrypted.  Before accessing the unsecured network, I made sure my firewall was on and changed all of the internet security settings to the most stringent ones available.  I also cleared "Use Simple File Sharing" in "Folder Options" in the Control Panel.  How likely is it that someone else on the connection could hack into my flash drive?

Thank you so much for your help!  I look forward to hearing form you.

Sincerely,
Ms. SDM

Answer
MS.SDM:
DISCLAIMER:
I AM NOT A LAWYER or ATTORNEY. I am someone who has experience with family law issues, and am sharing my OPINION only. For the exact law as it pertains to your specific case contact a Professional Attorney in your area/county/country.

The answer would be NO if you do not have a password setup on your laptop: Essientially when you connect your system to a network: It is like connecting to any network: Someone can simple search the network and find an open system and begin searching even your USB Flash drive.

If you have a password setup on your laptop so that everytime you use it you must login with name and password: Then your system is somewhat secure on this type of network: When you connect to exchange say a secure site it becomes encrypted and more secure.

Here is a PDF file on the subject:

http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/Wireless-Security.pdf

Kind Regards,
Jeff