Whose Looking Over Your Shoulder???
by Gary Woods

I love cruising into my favorite spot on lower State St. to grab one of their great Cobb Salads and get my Email on their open Wi-Fi connection. But the other day I noticed somebody staring over my shoulder and it started me thinking.

One of the things you can do before you open up your Notebook is to look around and make sure nobody's able to glance at your screen or keyboard. The second thing is if you're on a Windows XP machine is open Control Panel and select Network Connections, then right-click on the wireless adapter selection and chose Properties. On the General tab, scroll the list of items the adapter uses and uncheck File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks.

You should always use a personal firewall that supports security zones, such as Norton Personal Firewall or ZoneAlarm. The firewall will sense that you're on a new network and ask whether you trust the network. YOU DON'T!!!

If you're ever in a situation where you use a public computer it's a good idea not to walk away before you're logged out of the site you're on. Better yet it would be best not to type any sensitive data into a public computer.

If you do type sensitive data and you're using Internet Explorer you can click Tools, Internet Options, and then on the General tab click on Delete Cookies, Delete Files and be sure Offline content is checked then Clear History.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910