how to protect yourself from others on the same home network

[LWJ]

Living in a rented apartment, the internet is shared by all the tenants, is there any way to protect yourself from the other tenant just in case they do not pratice safe surfing .

[David H. Lipman]

A firewall appliance that sits between your personal network and the network provided to the apartment complex.

 

That is assuming that all the tenants in separate apartments are not on separate or virtually separate sub-nets.

 

EDIT:

 

Or are you talking about roommates in a shared apartment ?

[LWJ]

Its about roommates in a shared apartment, in this case would firewall be sufficient?

As there is only 1 ISP and everyone is connected to the same router.

[David H. Lipman]

It wouldn't be a Firewall Appliance, it would be the Windows Firewall.  However with roommates they have physical access and so you must take physical protection steps.  This includes...

 

*  Password protected Windows Profile

*  Password protected screensaver and when the PC comes out of sleep or hibernation as well.

*  Windows Firewall

*  Do not write down passwords and leave them in the open.

*  Do not share your computer

*  Place the computer in a "public" network mode (not "home" nor "work")

*  Scan the computer for malware and take a physical note of it and its setup so you have a baseline to detect "tampering" as well as ways in the future to detect and limit the possibility of tampering.

*  If it is a notebook, lock it away.

 

That's off the top of my head.  I'm sure there are *more* steps that can be taken.

[LWJ]

If I am away on a business trip and the PC have not been updated for 1 week. Would it be safe to update it?

If one of the roommate PC have been infected would it affect the rest?

[David H. Lipman]

"If I am away on a business trip and the PC have not been updated for 1 week. Would it be safe to update it?"

 

Updating is the proper and safe action.  When you keep the OS and all software updated you mitigate vulnerabilities that may be exploited.  Keeping a PC updated minimizes that risk.

"If one of the roommate PC have been infected would it affect the rest?"

Infected ?

Infected with - WHAT ?

 

The ability to spread from computer to computer is the action of a "true virus".  Not what everybody "thinks" is a virus.  True viruses self replicate and autonomously spread.  Internet worms are a type of virus that spreads by using Internet Protocols.  The list I previously gave you minimizes that risk.  If a roommate is "infected" with an adware trojan or a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) or some other NON-VIRUS then the answer is flat out - NO.

 

If the infection is based upon a file infecting virus, an AutoRun Worm or an Internet Worm then there is the possibility of roommate's PC infecting other computers on the Local Area Network (LAN).

[John A]

Router hijacking may be another issue here. Do you know if the default admin password is used in the router?

[AdvancedSetup]

Just seeing another computer on the network does not mean one can get on. Even if there is a public share one cannot easily just escalate their rights and do something useful. One needs a lot of knowledge and typically tools designed to find a weakness often due to a known compromised application or protocol that has not been fixed.

 

Try yourself and see if you can do anything to or against any other computers on your network and I bet you'll find it rather difficult to do anything.

[LWJ]

Try yourself and see if you can do anything to or against any other computers on your network and I bet you'll find it rather difficult to do anything.

We don't really know whether our roommate practice safe surfing or not and you can't demand they practice it so just wondering if they were infected would it affect everyone else.

Router hijacking may be another issue here. Do you know if the default admin password is used in the router?

I don't think so.

"If I am away on a business trip and the PC have not been updated for 1 week. Would it be safe to update it?"

 

Updating is the proper and safe action.  When you keep the OS and all software updated you mitigate vulnerabilities that may be exploited.  Keeping a PC updated minimizes that risk.

being 1 week late in the update would make you more vulnerable so was wondering if there are any way to minimize the risk when connecting to the network for the first time after 1 week of no updating.

"If one of the roommate PC have been infected would it affect the rest?"

Infected ?

Infected with - WHAT ?

 

The ability to spread from computer to computer is the action of a "true virus".  Not what everybody "thinks" is a virus.  True viruses self replicate and autonomously spread.  Internet worms are a type of virus that spreads by using Internet Protocols.  The list I previously gave you minimizes that risk.  If a roommate is "infected" with an adware trojan or a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) or some other NON-VIRUS then the answer is flat out - NO.

 

If the infection is based upon a file infecting virus, an AutoRun Worm or an Internet Worm then there is the possibility of roommate's PC infecting other computers on the Local Area Network (LAN).

You said following the list you gave would minimize the risk so can I assume that scaning the pc regularly, setting the connection to public and turn on firewall is sufficient? Since as the rest are more of a physical protection, like not leaving the password around, not sharing the PC etc.

[David H. Lipman]

"being 1 week late in the update would make you more vulnerable so was wondering if there are any way to minimize the risk when connecting to the network for the first time after 1 week of no updating."

 

It is not that big a risk.  Two months would not be that big of a risk.  When you return the important thing is FIRST you make sure all software and anti malware signatures are updated THEN surf the web and access content.

 

"You said following the list you gave would minimize the risk so can I assume that scaning the pc regularly, setting the connection to public and turn on firewall is sufficient? Since as the rest are more of a physical protection, like not leaving the password around, not sharing the PC etc."

 

That's only part in a logical sense.  Logical as in computers being networked.  Your 'mates have PHYSICAL access and thus you have to take physical safe guards first and foremost.  Their possible access can be the biggest threat.  That threat may increase if your 'mates are not relatives.  This is called the Insider Threat. 

[LWJ]

Is there a difference if you set your network type to 'public' or 'home'? From what I can gather both have the same default setting. Will setting it to public make it impossible or difficult to change or force change to the setting?

[AdvancedSetup]

Please read the following articles which will help you to better understand how to secure your computer.

 

Choosing a network location

Making your network more secure

Windows 7 Security Primer (Part 1)

Windows 7 Security Primer (Part 2)

Windows 7 Security Primer (Part 3)

[LWJ]

If someone on the network uses virtualbox and did not set things up properly will it be hacked? If it can, will the hacker be able to access the other PC on the network?

[David H. Lipman]

The subject of this post is...

 

"how to protect yourself from others on the same home network"

 

Do you really think someone on the same home network is going to "hack" your computer ?

If so, please define your "home network" as in;  who are the users and what devices share this "home network".

[AdvancedSetup]

No they would not be able to unless they have advanced knowledge and access to specific tools designed for penetration.

If you're having issues perhaps you should speak with whomever owns the system and voice your concerns with them.

If someone has physical access to the computer there is nothing one can do to stop them from doing just about anything they want.

If all they have is shared access over a router then as said they would need advanced skills to do anything.

[CWB]

my question is :

why has the OP returned after all this time to ask a poignant question ?

perhaps he has reason to ask about this situation ?

he may not see a fire but he can smell smoke .

[AdvancedSetup]

Show me some smoke. I'll let you on my router and see if you can access anything. Again, it is not that easy to penetrate a system without specific tools and know how if you're practicing safe computing and have a firewall enabled, all Windows updates up to date. Most compromises are done by drive by or email attachments which a remote user on your router cannot do. Just saying don't add to someone's paranoia without real evidence to the contrary.

[LWJ]

Whether there is smoke or not I don't know. A paranoid friend with a roomate that works in some sort of networking company asked me these question.

I only have some basic knowledge regarding networking so I was asking around to see if any one know more. I know in this kind of forum some question should not be reply least they gave the wrong people ideas. If this is the case it is fine not to reply. I will just have to find other ways to reassure her.

[CWB]

helping out a friend ... a noble cause indeed (as others here ; been there many times) .

as you may have discovered , the questions you (or your friend) were asked make for asking more questions ...

the reason being that there is not a single "pat/universal answer" .

at times it is hard to convey answers/ideas pertaining to "security" in a forum as there are several variables involved .

 

specialization :

there are others here that know much more than myself about the issues involved with "security" (et al) .

sure , i know the basics (as it were) but my real *thing* is the electronic/internal workings/repair of computers (as well as other devices/machines) .

the same goes for *others* out there in the real world ... you wouldn't ask a plumber to bake your daughter's wedding cake .

 

asking the tech that asked the questions of your friend to elaborate further on the issue(s) would be step in the right direction .

as he would be "right there" he has immediate feedback and can fine-tune his explanations .

the tech can also "have a look" at what is the cause of your friend's concerns/issues and thus be better able to provide more concise answers that are specific to the system at hand .

 

second opinions are always good ... there have been such issues raised in these forums and in some cases , the OP was helped/straightened out by those members proffering information .

 

and as advancedsetup noted ...

misinformation and half-truths only add to the problem(s) .