Public Wireless Security

[Costa Del Sol]

Hello,

Many times I see plenty of computers (i.e JohnSmith's Macbook Pro) when I connect to a public wireless network (as in, coffee shops) under Finder > Shared. Does that mean something crazy like people can access my files, etc.?

Sorry if it sounds newbieish, thanks in advance.

 

[Jolly Giant]

Does that mean something crazy like people can access my files, etc.?

potentially, yes.

enable your Mac's firewall when connecting to those wifi hotspots.

 

[Modernape]

Also go into Sys prefs>Sharing and make sure everything is turned off. When you enable the firewall, choose advanced>enable stealth mode.