Connecting to wireless Internet

[wagonmaster2]

At home, I use AT&T for wireless internet connection with my HP laptop. Our town has a city wide free WIFI connection for any resident who wants to use it for their Internet usage. My question is, anytime I click "Start", then "Connect To", the city wide connection is at the top of the list since I've used it several times and always the first to connect to. At night I'll shut off the AT&T wireless but since the city WIFI is at the top of the list it's always on so how can I move the city WIFI off the top of the "Connection To" list so its not always on? I'm just not sure how secure this city wide WIFI is as compared to the AT&T.

Wagonmaster2

[OSSKOBRET]

CLICK YOUR WINDOWS ICON AT BOTTOM LEFT (sorry) choose control panel then choose internet connections at this piont you should be able to assign what hits first by the way any city wifi is not secure and you will get bugs unless you are running a mac dont trust anything thousands of people have access to.....thats my opinion

[wagonmaster2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OSSKOBRET CLICK YOUR WINDOWS ICON AT BOTTOM LEFT (sorry) choose control panel then choose internet connections at this piont you should be able to assign what hits first by the way any city wifi is not secure and you will get bugs unless you are running a mac dont trust anything thousands of people have access to.....thats my opinion

Thanks for all the information. With my limited computer knowledge I would never have found that solution. Even at that, I had to click several points after getting on Control Panel to find the right one. I didn't realize I had so many possible connections to the wireless Internet from all our campground stays but I did do some re-arranging. Always wondered why when we return to a previous visited campground the laptop automatically connected to the right Wifi as soon as I clicked "Connect to". Will see what it does when we get home from this current trip.

I too, am nervous about being connected on an unsecured city wide (about 20,000 population) but the computer technician at one of the computer stores said the city controlled connection is probably as secure as the AT&T. The main emphasis is "probably".

Thanks again for the help.

Wagonmaster2

[alvinc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wagonmaster2 I too, am nervous about being connected on an unsecured city wide (about 20,000 population) but the computer technician at one of the computer stores said the city controlled connection is probably as secure as the AT&T. The main emphasis is "probably". Thanks again for the help. Wagonmaster2

I would argue that no Internet connection is secure!!! Whether it is wired, wireless, your local coffee shop, hotel room, via a city provided connection, AT&T, Verizon, or any ISP.

If you are going to connect to the Internet your computer should be set up to distrust the Internet and maintained in that manner. This means current virus checker, OS patches, firewall enabled, skeptical trust settings, etc.

If you want to "trust" your private home network or work network, that is up to you and a different beast.

I agree with the computer technician, what makes one internet connection safer than another? Wired or un-wired they can all be sniffed.

[OSSKOBRET]

I could not have said it better myself

[B Bob]

A home network with your own connection would be WAY more likely to be secure than a city free wifi. Not saying you cannot have problems at your home network, just unlikely. I use the internet constantly every day. I use windows. I have used free, norton, and no antivirus. It has been years since I had any problems with a virus. Of course I don't open suspicious stuff either. For a long time I used a computer loaded with Linux when I was surfing the net for personal stuff. Linux is fast and secure. Also does not work well with this web site and many others as it does not work with flash.

IMHO spyware much more of a problem than virus.

[wa8yxm]

Right click on it and choose REMOVE or DELETE Disconnect (This last changes it to Manual Connection so it will only connect if you ask it to)

Or simply disable the WI-Fi adapter from the network connections on the control panel.
(This turns off ALL wi-fi connections till re-enabled)


If you have not already done so consider a good firewall.. IE: Zone Alarm Free, to further protect you from outside access.

[wagonmaster2]

Thanks for all the help guys. Decided to just re-arrange all the Wifi connections since I do travel to the same campgrounds for vacations quite often, don't care how they are arranged, just the two at the stick house. My two home connections (the house and the city wide) are now arranged so the house wireless always comes on first, which is just the way I wanted it.
Thanks again for the excellent information, I'd never survive this computer without all the help I get from this Forum.

Wagonmaster2