Public Network / Campus network security.

In the fall I will be on a college campus full time. For the last decade I've lived behind the happy world of my homes hardware firewall, with access to every computer on that network, allowing me to keep them nice and secure .

Are there any significant changes I should make being on an open network 24/7? I can only imagine what kind of viruses people there will manage to acquire, and having them on my network scares me .

I currently run windows 7, with Comodo software firewall, Avira personal AV, and I use Sandboxie to create virtual environments when I'm on the net.

Any general info about public networks is cool. Anecdotes are welcome too

 

Thanks for the topic move by the way, I didn't notice the security niche forum.

 

Just read scary article on how a computer on the inside of a network can easily trick another computer into thinking that it is the router. It would then forward the data to the real router, collecting data along the way - all the time me being unaware.

 

Usually, when you connect to the school's network for the first time, your computer will have to pass a network scan-and you'll have to register the machine with ResNet. (the common name for the residential network staff at colleges) You may be asked a few questions for stats purposes (what OS are you using, is this a laptop or a desktop, etc.) and you might be prompted to install AV software from the school-It's free, usually Symantec or McAfee corporate if you didn't provide your own.

Some schools make you install something known as Cisco Clean Access Agent as a way to ensure that your computer is safe for the network by checking to ensure that it's up to date on patches and ensuring that you have a properly configured AV solution.

In most schools, if your computer is detected to have a severe security problem, you'll be put in quarantine (disconnected from the internet and shielded from other computers on the network) until the problem is fixed.

In general you should follow standard safe computing practices:

1. Use a firewall-Windows Firewall is fine
2. Use a AV and keep it updated
3. Install Windows Updates
4. Know where your going on the web...be smart
5. Don't leave your computer unattended...lock the screen if you must leave it for a bit

If your using Windows Vista or Windows 7, it's easy to ensure your safe, esp. if your also using Windows Firewall. When you connect to a new network, your prompted to choose where you are physically, home, work, or public. On the school's network, choose Public. This ensures that file sharing and network discovery are turned off and that Windows Firewall is properly configured to protect your PC the best: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Choosing-a-network-location


You might want to shoot a e-mail to your school's residence hall network IT staff (there's usually a "questions" link or something like that on their page on your school's website) as every school is different. (some schools use CCAA, others dont, some make you use their provided AV, others don't.-For the record, my school doesn't do both of those) They'd be more than happy I bet to address your questions.

 

Thanks, some nice food for thought +rep

 

No problem! Glad it helped.