Quote:
Originally Posted by Gwenne & Len
wifi (not secure)
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No WiFi is secure, no matter what it says. There are some things you can do to protect yourself.
1. Always use https: URLs for any data you don't want stolen. That is better encryption than WiFi security.
2. Don't install any toolbars or plugins in your browser. Many of them are spyware.
3. Use Chrome or Firefox, and keep it up to date, and _only_ download the browser from mozilla.org (for firefox) or google.com/chrome . Any other site will put spyware in the install. Unfortunately Microsoft Edge is still behind as far as security is concerned, and Internet Explorer is out of date and unsafe to use.
4. Consider using Ubuntu as a laptop OS, especially if you have an older laptop that isn't so fast using Windows any longer. It's free and updates are always free, keep it up to date. A lot of the crap that compromises Windows security doesn't run on Linux, and Ubuntu is fine for normal people to use. These days you don't need much other than the browser, and it runs the major ones just fine.
5. MacOS isn't bad, but only if you keep it up to date, which means buying expensive hardware reasonably often.
6. Don't keep phones or tablets that aren't getting OS updates. Unfortunately this is expensive to do. I am using Google's own Android phones (Nexus/Pixel) but they only promise updates for a minimum of 3 years after model introduction and 18 months after last sale.
I have run my servers on Debian Linux (ancestor of Ubuntu) since the 1990's, without a firewall. The only compromises we've ever had were of Wordpress - which is full of holes and must be kept up to date whatever OS you run it on.