Bluetooth security advice needed please.

Oddjob

Hello, I hope someone on here can help.

My laptop at the moment is not connected to any printer,my pc is.

My laptop is also not connected to my pc, in fact the only thing the laptop does connect to is my Orange Livebox, so I can get onto the Internet, (using wifi).

I am loathe to create a home network in case one of them gets a virus and passes it to the other. If I want to print anything that is on my laptop, I email it to myself, then open it on the pc. I suppose that still leaves them open to transfering viruses but both have KIS protection anyway.

I have a small photo printer and wanted to be able to print some photos from my laptop to the photo printer. I've just bought two bluetooth dongles so I can connect them together - the photo printer is a HP photosmart 335 which says it can run bluetooth with an adapter.

A friend of mine has now got me worried by saying that whilst I'm using blueooth, anyone with a scanner program could in theory, hijack my laptop and see any of my files and that these scanner programs are easy to get hold of on the Internet.

If that is the case, how can I make the connection between the two secure, or rather, can they be made secure?

Thanks in advance.

patman99

As Bluetooth has a short range - 10 Metres, they would have to be in vary close proximity to hijack your connection. Bluetooth is also protected. You normally need to enter a 4 digit pin to connect devices and this can usually be changed from the default settings.

Oddjob

Thanks for such a quick answer. I bluetooth photos from my phone to my pc and of course you are right about having to put a four digit code into both to 'pair' them.
It was just that my friend said that these scanner programmes can break that code.
If they have to be within 10 metres though, that would seem to make the connection pretty safe, unless of course I have 'dodgy' neighbours!! ha ha.