Why you should never connect to public wifi?
Everyone might have used a public wifii is our life anytime or the other. You might have used to download a large game or movie or do even normal surfing. But did you know you might be unaware of some threats lurking in the background on public wifi while you balance your bank account and sip a latte? Lets find out how!
What is public Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi’s that can be found in popular public places like airports, coffee shops, malls, restaurants, and hotels — and it allows you to access the Internet for free are known as public wifi. These hotspot are one of the major source of hacker attack. Public wifis are harmless for surfing social media or reading news articles but it could be risky for activities that require login. For example checking mail or online banking.
What are the risks?
There are lots and lots of threats while using a Public wifi. Business owners may believe they’re providing a valuable service to their customers, chances are the security on these networks is nonexistent.
Man-in-the-Middle attacks
The biggest threat to free Wi-Fi security is the ability for the hacker to position himself between you and the connection point. So while talking talking to your internet source there are chances that a a hacker gets your information in the transit.
Unencrypted networks
Encryption is the process of converting the message sent between your computer and the wireless router into a secret code like thing. So that it cannot be read by anyone who doesn’t have the key to decipher the code. So in the Man-in-the-middle attacks when the information is encrypted hacker can’t read the information. Most routers are shipped from the factory with encryption turned off by default, and it must be turned on when the network is set up. And we are not sure that the business owner has enable it.
Malware distribution
Unsecured Wi-Fi connection can also be used to distribute malware. If file-sharing is enables, the hacker can easily plant infected software on your computer. Some ingenious hackers have even managed to hack the connection point itself, causing a pop-up window to appear during the connection process offering an upgrade to a piece of popular software. Clicking the window installs the malware.
Snooping and sniffing
Wi-Fi snooping and sniffing is what it sounds like. Hackers even buy special software kits and even devices to help assist them with eavesdropping on Wi-Fi signals. By doing this they can see everything you are doing online. Literally everything.
How to stay safe on public Wi-Fi?
The best and easiest way to stay safe on public Wi-Fi is using a VPN ( Virtual Private Network). Using a VPN is must when you connect to unsecure network. When using VPN, even if a hacker manages to position himself in the middle of your connection, the data here will be strongly encrypted. So technical your safe!
Don’ts
- Allow your Wi-Fi to auto-connect to networks
- Log into any account via an app that contains sensitive information. Go to the website instead and verify it uses HTTPS before logging in
- Leave your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on if you are not using them
- Access websites that hold your sensitive information, such as such as financial or healthcare accounts
- Log onto a network that isn’t password protected
Do’s
- Disable file sharing
- Only visit sites using HTTPS
- Log out of accounts when done using them
- Use a VPN to make sure your public Wi-Fi connections are made private
So that’s it for today!. Hope you have enjoyed this another article on Cybersecurity. Also do check out our other posts on Cybersecuity. Do follows us on our socials and don’t forget to share!
Great day!
