I just bought a Linksys Wireless USB Adapter for my Desktop. After installing the drivers, i could see couple of connections available. But there is one connection always available. "Linksys".While others need a password to connect. If i connect through the linksys connection, i am able to view the web pages and all but my concern is how secure that connection is? I know the adapter is catching a signal from someone else's router. Basically i am getting internet connection for free. What happens if i do secure transactions like online bankings and so on. Will anyone be able to see and hack into my system? I am using XP Pro. If so, are there any measures i could take to make my system safe? I am also using ZoneAlarm (basic version) and Norton AntiVirus.

You will have to setup a WEP password in order to make your wireless network more secure.

try your router IP's like 192.168.0.1 in your web browser you will be able to set your need in there.

Read manual for correct IP address even though the above mentioned one works in most.

Good luck

Hi,
Becareful for online banking and other secure transactions while browsing from that wirless connection. As you got it free it doesn't have any authentication mechanism and that probably, the guys who set up also not took any measured for security settings such as data encryption. Just my guess that the guy might be dumb or smart ace, who want to trap any surfer via his free wireless service.
Security is very cirtical on wirless medium. So, it can be track any packet(data) which travel through wirless connection at normal situation on that free service by it provider. But there are also, many security measured which can safe guard from such action. As there is no guarentee So, becareful...............

Vertigo,
Here is a good article that tells you how you can secure your wireless network at home

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wirelesssecurity/tp/wifisecurity.htm

Revival

First of all you want to user Free Internet . Congratulations.
In fact you can become the owner of the machine . Probably the username and password of that machine is admin/admin. Type 192.168.1.1 on your web brower and change the password for that station.. then you are the proud owner of that machine.

U can get into their network means you have no security or encryption.
WEP is the basic encryption using preshared keys using 64 or 128 bits keys. Newer ones use WPA, WPA/PSK or 802.1x security.

WEP keys can be broken with a WEP cracker. so it is a huge security hole.

As for online banking it uses encryption using ssl so no one will be able to see what you are doing. It will look like garbage to the other people but hotmail doesn't use any encryption after verifying the password so others can see what you are sending.

I dont have a personal router. I use the wireless connection for free. I use someone else's router. The adapter just catches the signal. Any way i can make my computer more secure?

if you can use the router anyone can use it. It is basically an open and unprotected Access point. There are different ways to make the connection secure.
WEP- Preshared keys used for encryption
802.1x - uses radius server for authentication and accounting and uses WEP for encryption
WPA- uses radius+TKIP for encryption
WPA/PSK- uses preshared key but uses TKIP
All of these security mechanish needs the setup in the Access point. If you can set it up in the AP then the owner won't be able to use it and will trigger a red flag.

you can use application layer encryption and vpn for privacy over the insecure
connections but normal browsing won't support them so you have no choice for normal browsing but if you goto secure sites then it will use https and will be encrypted.

Thank you

Vertigo:
If you are using someone else's wireless router, you obviously can not make it secure at the wireless router level. Things like WEP etc won't work, because you can not change the router's settings. You could in theory use Bhole Babaji 's hacking advice and comandeer the router and set it up with WEP etc, but I think it's a dumb idea, because (1) the suggested password may or may not work, (2) you are essentially breaking into somebody else's property and (3) it will make the router unsable by the righful owner and they are bound to investigate and undo your changes. At the end they may endup setting up router security such that you lose your free connection!

If I were you, I would not lose sleep about wireless security, though I would take other precautions. The reason is that security of wireless signals using WEP etc is only one of many layers of security. This layer of security works above other layers of security such as secured connections to web sites. So, as long as you are careful that whenever you are sending or receiving sensitive data (bank info, credict card info etc), you are using a secure website (look for "https" instead of "http", and a lock incon at the bottom of your browser), even if somebody has the motivation, the means and the time to intercept your wireless signal, they still end up with encrypted/secured data they can not readily read.

If you don't have security at wireless level, the only real risk is that when you are communicating with UNSECURED web sites/servers (sending emails, chatting) the data is unencrypted, so somebody can theoritically catch your wireless signal and read the info. Unless you have an ex-girl friend with advanced technical knowledge and a real hatred of you and is out to read your email and harass you, you should not worry.

Bottom line is, even without wireless security, when you use secured web sites, you have a good layer of protection. I would stop worrying and enjoy the free connection as long as it lasts.

Vertigo:
Other ways to be safe:
Use a firewall to protect your PC from invaders. Windows XP has a builtin firewall. You can turn it on, if it's not. You can instead use Zone Alarm as well.
Use antivirus and be up-to-date. Norton is very good, but make sure you set it up to receive automatic updates.
I hear more people complaning about spyware these days, more than viruses, so you can install a program such as AdAware (free at download.com) and run it frequently.

And last, but not the least, update Windows XP with latest patches. Start->Windows Update.