<![CDATA[Public Wi-Fi is an amenity we have all begun to depend on whether we are at the mall, an airport, a restaurant, a hotel or even our favorite coffee shop. It allows us to connect to the internet in order to communicate, get work done or do any number of tasks that require a network connection. It may sound harmless to log on using public Wi-Fi to quickly check your email, bank statements or catch up on your social media. Unfortunately, using public Wi-Fi, while convenient, is also a bit risky. Even before the most recent attack on Wi-Fi called Krack (see last month’s blog post for more information), these networks have long used lax or nonexistent security protocols in order to provide the service of free Wi-Fi to travelers, business people and your average internet user. Let’s take a closer look at the risks associated with using public Wi-Fi. Common Threats
- Man-In-the-Middle Attack – This threat is probably the most common when it comes to using public Wi-Fi. A hacker can position himself between you and the connection point. So instead of talking directly with the hotspot, you’re sending your information to the hacker. This means that a hacker has unfettered access to your data.
- Distributing Malware – While using public hotspots a hacker can easily plant infected software on your computer.
- Snooping and Sniffing – This threat involves exactly what it sounds like: a cyber criminal gaining access to anything and everything you are doing online including logins to various sites, input of credit cards, and information you have filled out on websites.
- Don’t use public Wi-Fi to shop online, log in to your financial institution, or access other sensitive sites ever.
- Logout of sites immediately after finishing.
- Use a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, to create a network-within-a-network, keeping everything you do encrypted.
- Implement two-factor authentication when logging into sensitive sites, so even if malicious individuals have the passwords to your bank, social media, or email, they won’t be able to log in.
- Only visit websites with HTTPS encryption when in public places, as opposed to lesser-protected HTTP addresses. Check the address at the top of the page for this.
- Turn off the automatic Wi-Fi connectivity feature on your phone, so it won’t automatically seek out hotspots while you are visiting places that commonly offer it.
- Don’t leave on your Bluetooth connection when in public places.
- Disable File Sharing.
- Buy an unlimited data plan for your device and stop using public Wi-Fi altogether