does any one brand of laptop have better security via wireless internet?

through wireless internet in a college settings, cause i have randomly heard some brand are better and get less virus'? should i be worried if im going to get a HP dv2500t? and how would you secure your network.. thanks guys, i appreciate it!

 

b..u..m..p

 

Not too sure about different brands of laptops providing better security, I would think it's the firewall, anti-virus, and wireless security settings not the brand of laptop or components.

Here's a thread about how others secure the networks:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=112631

Doh! (banging head against the desk), these are settings for personal networks. Your college IT Admin would take care of any security settings required for the school network. Hope this helps.

 

Hardware-wise, nope, all notebooks are the same - though Macs are an exception.

Software-wise, it makes all the difference, firewalls, AV, etc. all aid in security.

 

so if im in college, would i need virus protection and malware protection on my laptop if im using the schools wireless?

 

You should always have some type of anti-virus protection. Check with your school's IT department, I know at my son's university, if you don't have an AV program, they provide one for you. Also they should have other recommendations as for malware and other network issues.

 

Also make sure your Windows XP SP2 firewall is on, or that you have an alternative that is on. Turn off file sharing unless you actually use it. My neighbor's laptop hopped onto my wireless network and I could see all his personal files and pictures. Since then I enabled WPA on my network.

Anyone know if with SP2 you can set it up to not automatically connect to a network unless you tell it to? That is the security concern at my company, which is why we use a Vendor provided tool to manage network connections.

 

If you are really after security, go for any brand that is linux based.

 

Yes, under your network connections, you have the options to turn on or off automatic connections. Under the advanced section you turn of auto connect to open connections too. Make sure you have the advanced connection to connect only to Access Points, unless you need Ad-Hoc.