Security issues I should be aware of with jupyter notebook?

Question

I've been using jupyter notebook for about six months now, but I don't really know the inner workings and any potential security issues I should be concerned with.

When I run the jupyter command from my console, It seems I am connecting to a server which allows me to execute my Python code(?). The server allows access to my PC files -- which means anyone else can access my PC files as well? Would someone potentially be able to delete all my files? Or somehow open a malware script and run it on my computer? Are these issues (or similar issues) I need to take additonal precautions against?

What about viruses and malware? Could those be transmitted from the server to my PC easily? Are the servers secure?

Thank you.

Answer 1

The Jupyter docs have a whole section on security - giving it a read will be useful.

A big thing to remember is that by default your server is running on localhost aka the server is your own computer. You can even run Jupyter without network access.

If you're just running Jupyter on your own computer doing your own stuff - you really don't need to worry about security. It's as secure as your computer is. It's when you start accessing it remotely or creating a multi user server or sharing your notebooks that security becomes a bigger issue - one that is mostly addressed in the docs I linked you.