Dealing with unsecured wifi

[02bin3]

I have a Lenovo laptop running Windows 10 Home.   For most of the summer I will be at a campground with public wifi and I've been going through the internet to see what I can do to secure my computer.  I believe I've done what I can with whatever Firefox has to offer in the way of wifi security.  One website recommended using the free program HTTPS Everywhere.  I was wondering if anyone else has used it and if it is a safe program to use?  Any other suggestions for keeping secure would be appreciated as I would like to access financial websites with passwords and I don't feel safe doing that presently.  Thank you........

[Geek-9pm]

Look in the user manual that came with your laptop. What you wan to avoid any any network using Theo WEP standard.
From CH archives:
Short for Wireless Equivalent Privacy, WEP is an encryption protocol defined in the 802.11b standard and introduced in September 1999 that helps protect a wireless network. WEP was later replaced by WPA, is an improved encryption standard introduced with 802.11i.
Most likely they use the new standard. But read this:
https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/w/wpa.htm
Despite providing more advanced security and encryption protocols, WPA2 still has one major flaw. The Wi-Fi Protected Setup feature makes it possible to bypass WPA2, which essentially breaks the security in many cases. Security is still stronger than WEP or WPA in any case, allowing for 256-bit encryption using a security key of either 64 hexadecimal digits or a passphrase of up to 63 ASCII characters.
Ask your bank about the alternative way to identify when you login. **
Otherwise,  change your password each time you go into your account.
That is the best I can say. Maybe somebody has a better idea.

** Two-step verification.

[Lisa_maree]

Hi 02bin3

Windows 10 has a setting for Public and Private networks, when you connect to the camp ground network set the connection to Public. Which will  allow your Lenovo to have internet access but will stop other users on the wireless having any access to you.

When you are connected you could run a trace route as explained here  https://www.chasms.com/chasms1/howdoi/ping_tracert/win10/pingw10.htm
Check for anything that seems unusual in the steps getting to a website you know. 

[02bin3]

I fumbled around Windows 10 and found that it is already on PUBLIC, and I don't know how relevant to security the following info is but I also found this:
ON:  Public
ON:  Use random hardware address
ON:  Allow VPN over metered networks
ON:  Allow VPN while roaming
I still get messages from Norton that I am on an unsecure network.  Do I just ignore what Norton is saying as I am on PUBLIC?  They also tell me in the same popup window that for $25.00 I can get a secure network connection from Norton.  Is this something that I really need from them or is there another way to be secure?
I am more familiar with my desktop Windows 7 Pro than I am with Windows 10, so using the laptop on unsecure wifi systems is new to me and I have very little understanding of what most of the terminology means.  Thank you

[patio]

Norton is garbage...not sayin you should totally dis-regard their notifications...but take it with a grain of salt.