10 Facts About Public WI-FI You Need To Know

Every year you find more and more fraudulent cases where people have had their private information stolen or identities used by a doppelganger in another state.

Today we will talk about some ways you can prevent such things from happening and also update you on what’s possible with today’s technology.

Invasion of Privacy

As stated earlier you can have your privacy invaded by others in the matter of minutes by making the wrong move. When connecting to free public networks in general you still run a risk in getting hacked into.

Just take a second to think about the situation, you are connected in a café with 20 other users on the same network. If there is one bad egg in the bunch then information can be compromised in seconds. You must make sure the site provides a secure SSL encrypted connection for public use.

Secure Connections

Public WI-FI

Did you know it was possible to create Wi-Fi hotspots with fake names to lure people? This is a common practice with online frauds to make you think you are connecting to a local network.

They can put something as intriguing like “Free Wi-Fi” and just make it easily accessible with no security password. When users think they are connecting to the local LAN center or café they are actually falling into a trap set to steal information. Make sure to ask the location itself if that is truly the correct connection.

Virtual Private Networks

This is the best way to protect your devices. What this program can do for you in amazing. Imagine every time you’re connected to the internet, you placed all your information into a blender and turned it on.

Now you might think this is a bad thing, but in reality, this makes it so nobody else can read your information. Once you are done browsing you can shut off the blender, and it all comes back together like it once was.

You get where I am going with this? Additionally, a VPN can change your IP address, so that even when connecting to public networks abroad, you can still catch all your favorite shows on country-restricted websites such as Pandora, Netflix, and Crunchyroll.

Encrypted Websites

Staying on encrypted and secure websites when on an unsecure network is the smartest thing you can do. If you have to travel around the net and gather information from unsecure websites attempt to use as many programs as you have available to keep you safe.

You can tell when a website is secure by it having a green lock on the top left of the address bar on Google chrome, It having anything different means it is unsecure and you should be aware of what you place into it.

Firewall

You know that free built-in security feature you get with your OS is actually pretty helpful? Try having your firewall active at all times when connected to such networks.

There are a lot of third party programs which can work a little better because they allow for more customization, they can be a real pain the get working but if you study up a bit and get it running you won’t regret it.

Mobiles

Mobile devices do not have indicators if sites are http secure or not, this means you can stumble blindly into traps when surfing onto public networks. There have been reports that mobile devices cannot really encrypt web sites correctly and are inaccurate.

You should stay away from applications that have anything to do with money and transfers like PayPal, bank apps, and micro-transaction games on unsecured public Wi-Fi network.

Keep in mind that they do have virtual private networks for mobile devices and do work really well if you ask me. I would recommend ZenMate as its one of the oldest and most updated VPN’s on the market today.

Anti-Virus Software

This is a very competitive market and there is a lot of software out that can give you exactly what you are looking for. The reason this is on the list is because it provides another layer of security, when using a public Wi-Fi network. Having an antivirus can help prevent anything that gets through your VPN and firewall software.

Cloud System

Sometimes when abroad you have to settle working with a public network, try to store your work or private information in a cloud based program.

If you don’t have the security on your computer the cloud can easily do that for you. Most websites that provide a cloud service take extreme measures in protecting their client’s data.

Idle State

Having finished your session using a public network it is best to turn off the Wi-Fi setting and Bluetooth while you are at it.

The reason is others could possibly tunnel their way into your system without you even being aware of it. Taking the extra step is just another added bonus of security to your system.

Network Sharing

Some users leave this type of setting on without notice or just never even know it exists. Since public networks are never known for their high security ratings you should disable your File Sharing, Public File Sharing, and Network Discovery in your control panel.

There are many things to look out for when using public networks and it can be a very scary place but with the right precautions you can handle it.

Never fall victim to such deception, instead fight it. I really hope you can pick up a few things from this article and use them in your everyday life.

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About the Author: Editor

Blogger from India.

4 Comments

  1. I really appreciate article like this. It’s very informative and I learned something from here. Thanks for sharing these 10 Facts About Public WI-FI You Need To Know.

  2. Generally, people will start using the internet, wherever they got a free Wi-fi especially in public areas. They don’t have any awareness about the public Wi-fi and the harmful attacks which is coming through it. Thanks for sharing this useful article which will helps the Wi-Fi users for secure browsing.

  3. I am really pleased you like this article. It’s so true that people just see ‘free wi-fi’ and just log on, they don’t always think about how safe it is! Hopefully this will raise some awareness about safety.

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