DM (20 Aug, 2005 03:01):
What is the best ways all of you have found to secure---on your end---a wireless network: OS/2 or Windows XP Professional. I am told the network here is open and does not requier a password.
DM
Hi DM,
a wireless network will never be "secure" unless it employs a high encryption at least like WPA. The standard WEP encryption is crap. And even by default, most wireless lans have NO encryption at all enabled unless the users want it.
As you've been told that the network is open, it means that everybody can "see" what your machine is sending and receiving via the network... there's tons of freeware for that.
In addition, you won't be able to turn on any kind of encrytion on your side, because the other machines (if ad-hoc-mode) or the access point (if infrastructure mode) then won't be able to "talk" to your machine.
So, regardless of operating system: Wireless networks are not safe by default and only "quite safe" with WPA/TKIP.
In Windoze it's quite easy to set up the encrytion and stuff but of course Windows is not safe/secure by default contrary to OS/2|eCS which is quite safe and secure by default. But unless your traffic is not secured, it doesn't matter what operating system you are using.
Windows can be made very safe and secure - if you know what to do... OS/2|eCS is much more secure out of the box, but mostly because the WinNT services also used in XP are lacking... 
Personally, I can admit that I "feel" more safe with an OS/2 or eCS at my hands than any Windows (unless I have configured it - but then, still... hmm...).
Greetings
Thomas