Using university wi-fi: is it secure?

[LowLevelSlashing]

I was using my macbook in the uni library the other day and noticed that I could 'see' other users in the vicinity (on the same network) when I was managing my files. When I was saving files, in the list that says 'desktop, documents etc' it offered names like 'Dave's computer' etc.

This freaked me out a bit, but obviously not enough to actually queue up at the help desk to ask the IT people...

Any thoughts on whether my stuff is safe from the likes of Dave and his mates?

It depends on the settings on your computer. I don't know about the Mac OS but windows allows you to set privacy options depending on the network you're connected to.

Ok, thanks. I'll have a mooch around my settings.

Found a Firewall thingy which I can turn on. It says something about denying access from other er things (sorry for lack of techy lingo!). If I turn it on, can I still browse the internet or would it stop that too?

I "think" that most computers only share things to other people on the same network as you that you explicitly allow tell the computer to share. As a rule I don't think they just open up folders to other people.

Turning on the firewall is probably a good idea, it should either come set to already allow Safari to access the internet or it will ask you when Safari runs whether it should be allowed (and then should remember your answer for the next time).