Security on Public Machines?

ThePopeLayton wonders: "I am currently a university student and unfortunately don't have my own computer yet. With all the key loggers and mal-ware out there, what can I do to keep my information secure. I probably log onto 20 different machines a week and changing my password, every two weeks, on all of my online accounts seems a little too much. What can I and other public computer users do to keep our personal information secret and safe?"

Re:livecd?

[nacturation]

... and check that there aren't any funny adaptor-like things attached to the keyboard port. Is that *just* a PS/2 <--> USB adaptor? Or does it have extra functionality that you'd never know?
 

Re:public machines and security: non sequitur

[TheOtherChimeraTwin]

I don't know what your budget is, but computers have become a commodity

It is a pretty popular response here to tell him to get his own computer. Keep in mind, getting a computer also means he needs space to keep the computer (and it has to be reasonably secure so it doesn't get ripped off), electricity to keep it going, and an interweb connection thingy so he can get at his pr0n^Wemail. The connection can get a little pricey, and it is an on-going expense. Now, maybe he is in a dorm room where the space, electricity and an ethernet drop is all included in his room fees. But then again, that might be part of the reason why he doesn't have a computer yet.

Since you can't really get privacy on a public computer, my suggestion is something that the average slashdotter would never think of recommending. Get a girlfriend with a computer. Make sure the computer has enough disk space for two.

Ebay is your friend

[LaidBackWebSage]

I got an IBM ThinkPad 600X laptop on eBay for $150, including shipping. Installed Kubuntu on it -- works great!

Computers are commodity items

[Money for Nothin']

Mod me -1, Redundant, but the last time I looked (over 2 years ago), you could buy a decent used laptop for less than $400. Now you can get new ones for that much from Dell. And that's a laptop, not a desktop, which, with Wal-Mart selling new desktops for under $200, are even cheaper.

Get yourself a used 1GHz, 512MB RAM, 60-80GByte HDD desktop and a cheap used CRT. This shouldn't total more than probably $100 or so, if that. This rig will get you through any classes a university will throw at you, barring possibly some engineering or graphics-design applications (e.g. Matlab, AutoCAD for the former, Photoshop for the latter).

Certainly it will suffice if you are a Computer Science major or a major in any of the non-technical fields...