Yes, you should at least consider this possibility. Anyone can install packet-sniffing software that will enable him or her to eavesdrop on what you do at a public hot spot. These snoops can read your e-mails and see what Web sites you visit, but they will not have access to the files on your laptop, unless you have file sharing enabled. And they cannot see any messages or Web pages sent over the secure server connections typically used by banks and e-commerce sites.
If you use a VPN to access your corporate network, you can use it at hot spots to encrypt all transmissions and shield them from packet sniffers. If you don't have a corporate VPN but frequently use public hot spots, you might consider a consumer VPN service such as the PersonalVPN from Witopia ($39.99 per year, www.witopia.net) or BlowFish from HotSpotVPN ($10.88 to $13.88 per month, www.hotspotvpn.com). These employ powerful 128-bit encryption to protect your data as it is transmitted.
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