You go inside
the café, order your drink, and take a seat. Almost immediately, you take out
your smartphone and search for available Wi-Fi connections—and there is one, great!
You quickly click on the network, maybe type in the coffee-shop security
password if it isn’t an open network, and wait impatiently for it to load up so
you can get some work done or answer your email or chat with friends, whatever.
So many of us
are in the habit of doing this or something similar, but there are dangers to
connecting to public Wi-Fi whenever we can. I’m not just talking about the
problems of always being plugged in—lack of communication or things like that.
Instead, your personal information can be at risk as well. Here are ten things
you should know about public Wi-Fi:
1. They’re watching you. I
don’t want to sound like a horror movie or a bad conspiracy theory, but it’s
true: your network usage is being
tracked. Companies like Facebook use any information about you that they can
find to provide ads that they think will be relevant
for you.
2. And it’s not just companies. If you read much news, you probably also know the government
is watching everything you do as well. Maybe they’re just curious.
But in some countries such as China, you can be arrested based on the
things you put online, and government tracking has taken a malicious turn. All
right, you might say, maybe that happens in China—but actually, there’s cases
of people being arrested for cyber-crimes all over the world, including in the UK.
3. Entering a password doesn’t mean security – Some people make the mistake of thinking that just because they’ve
had to enter a password to connect to the internet, it means that the network
is safe. But if you were able to get
the network password, do you really think that’s stopping anyone else?
4. You’re easy pickings for hackers – Log on to that coffee-shop website and there are probably at least a
couple other people logged on to it with you. And your computer is sharing
everything about you whenever you access a website. These packets of
information, called cookies, can include things like your location, passwords,
sites you visit frequently, etc. It’s very easy for a hacker to get this info
and then use it to steal your identity.
5. Sharing isn’t caring. Although
you’ve probably been taught your whole life that nice people share, this isn’t
true when you’re talking about public Wi-Fi. Make sure you turn off file
sharing and network sharing when you’re out in public—otherwise, you’re making
it even easier for hackers to connect to your computer and giving them an easy
way to load malware onto your computer without your knowing.
6. Malicious hotspots – As
if it weren’t enough to be worried about what happens when you’re connected to
a public Wi-Fi network, you also have to worry about which networks you’re
connecting to. In fact, it’s very easy for someone to set up what is known as a
malicious hotspot. These appear to be free public
hotspots, but they’re set up by someone who gets you to connect to their
network and then can steal your information or give you malware. Be very
careful that the network you’re connecting to is legitimate!
7. Automatic connections – On related note, you should make sure your device isn’t
automatically connecting to whatever free, open Wi-Fi is around you. Sure, it
might take you an extra couple minutes to search for a network and connect to
it when you need one, but for the sake of your security, take those extra
minutes just to ensure that you’re not accidentally connecting to a malicious
hotspot.
8. Use a firewall and anti-virus software – This may seem like a no-brainer for some of you, but you’d be
surprised how many people don’t take the time to set up their computer’s
firewall properly. And there’s another set of people who don’t bother to use
anti-virus software, incorrectly believing that if they’re careful with what
they download, nothing bad can happen. But really, you’ll want to make sure you’re using both.
9. It’s easier to protect yourself than you might have
thought – With all these possible ways for your
information to be compromised, you might feel like you should never connect to
a public Wi-Fi network again! But the thing is, if you’re aware of the risks,
you can set
up a VPN to protect yourself. A VPN will encrypt and scramble your
data, so it becomes of no use to anyone who tries to read it. Of course,
nothing is 100% foolproof, but a VPN will give you a more secure connection and
make you a less appealing target for hackers.
10. Public Wi-Fi is a privilege – One last thing to remember:
if you can find public Wi-Fi and have a device that can access it,
you’re a very lucky person. Don’t complain if the network is a bit slower than
your connection at home; you’ve probably still got a connection that’s better than
some people have at their local internet café. And if you’re travelling and
can’t find a Wi-Fi connection, it’s not the end of the world.
Finding a free public Wi-Fi network is great, but that said, it’s a
good idea to be smart about how you access and use these networks. With all the
private information that we keep on our devices and with all our private
accounts online, you definitely want to make sure you’re doing everything in
your power to protect yourself against identity theft. You don’t need to be
terrified of using public WiFi, but be sure you know the hazards and the ways
to protect yourself!
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