Wireless Networking Precautions

Using Wi-Fi sounds cool but when you're connected to a public Wi-Fi or even a Wi-Fi which is secured but is being used by other unknown people too, there is a very high chance that they can see the files on your computer if you have not turned off file sharing. But I'm here to keep you safe with some precautions:

1. Make sure your computer has a hardware firewall.
2. Use public Wi-Fi for simple Internet browsing only.
3. Never use public networks for banking or to transmit credit card information.
4. Before joining any public network, look around for signs that advertise the name of the Wi-Fi network provided. Don't join any other networks that may also show up on your PC as available.
5. Don't use public networks to log in to anything personal, even Web-mail. Hackers are well aware that most people use the same passwords across everything from email to bank accounts.
6. Turn off shared folders to prevent hackers from uploading malware to your computer over a Wi-Fi network.
7. Change your Windows Wireless Network Connection properties from “Automatic Connection” (the default) to “On Demand” to prevent your computer from automatically joining unsafe networks.

Sources:

http://www.support.com/blog/post/7-simple-precautions-you-should-take-when-using-public-wi-fi