I have the opportunity to move to a nice apartment in a town that provides free wi-fi over the area. Is this a risk worth taking? Does Norton offer any protection in that case?
Advise is appreciated. 
Yes, Norton provides full protection eventhough it is an unsecured Wireless network. For this, you need to add the wi-fi to Network Security Map. You can set any one of the following access level to this:
Shared: Adds the network to the Shared list
All the network traffic that your computer receives from a Shared network is filtered. The devices on the network can access only the shared resources on your computer, such as files, folders, and printers.
You should select this trust level if you do not trust all the devices on this network and want Norton Internet Security to protect you from virus attacks.
Protected: Adds the network to the Protected list
A network is in the Protected trust level when it is not classified as Trusted, Shared, or Restricted. All the shared resources such as files and printer are protected from unauthorized access by devices on the network.
If you choose this trust level, you can remain protected from known virus attacks.
Thanks for the speedy reply! This is the part of the information from the city that has me concerned:
Downtown FREE Wi-Fi
The City of xxxxx is providing wireless access as a public service, free of charge. Information passing through City of xxxxx wireless access is not secured and could be monitored, captured or altered by others.
So, if I follow the steps you listed, I'll be able to access the internet safely?
noliah wrote:
So, if I follow the steps you listed, I'll be able to access the internet safely?
Yes and no. Unsecured wi-fi means that everything you do online can be seen by others - you are broadcasting over the airwaves, afterall. Norton will protect your computer by automatically setting your Network Trust Level to "Protected." You should not change this, unless you opt for the even more secure "Restricted." "Shared" is dangerous on an open network as it can allow others on the network - people you don't know - to have access to your computer. "Protected" will apply firewall rules to traffic from other devices on the wi-fi network in order to prevent attacks. "Restricted" simply blocks all other devices, period.
So, Norton will protect what is on your PC, but it can't do anything about hiding the traffic between your computer and the internet that you are broadcasting over an unsecured network. If you connect to secured sites using SSL or TLS encryption your communication will be unreadable by others as long as the site address remains "https" and not "http" One of the problems is that the login to your webmail page may use encryption, but once logged in, the contents of your email messages may be transmitted in the clear. And there are even some ways for hackers to get around the encryption altogether. So, rule number one is: avoid doing anything online that involves transmitting any sensitive data over an unsecured network. Don't use online banking, for example.
Here are a couple of articles with suggestions for using public unsecured wifi safely:
http://us.norton.com/familyresources/resources.jsp?title=column_Summer_travel_requires_wi-fi_caution
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_use_an_open_wifi_hotspot_safely.html