Make Wi-Fi safe with private network

So you’re a self-employed business person, tourist or vacationer and you want to be sure that it’s safe when you send e-mail and surf the Web using free Wi-Fi in town and elsewhere. What do you do?

Last week, I mentioned virtual private networks, which are a good solution to the problem. (How safe is your wireless? http://matr.net/article-25187.html ) A VPN is pretty much what it sounds like: your own private tunnel for encrypted data on the Internet.

When you connect to free Wi-Fi, your laptop or PC establishes a link with a wireless router and your data is transmitted back and forth, and, as I pointed out, lots of it is in the clear.

By MARK RATLEDGE for the Missoulian

Mark Ratledge is a Missoula computer consultant. He can be reached at http://www.songdogtech.net.

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2007/08/21/business/biz96.txt