Who doesn’t like to enjoy the benefits of free internet connections when we connect with our laptop or smartphone to the Wi-Fi networks of restaurants, hotels, stores, or airports without paying a cent?
What does not always cross our minds while checking our emails, watching a movie, or uploading vacation photos to our social networks, are the many risks and dangers we expose ourselves to. Today we tell you which threads you need to know about using public Wi-Fi connections and how you can effectively protect yourself from them.
Risks of connecting to an open Wi-Fi network
If you are wondering what kind of network you are using when you connect to public Wi-Fi, you should know that, unlike Wi-Fi networks that you may have at home or at work, open networks do not usually have protection elements such as passwords or encryptions, so anyone can connect to them virtually anonymously.
This lack of security, coupled with the great creativity of cybercriminals to invent new strategies to obtain private personal data or money, has meant that the variety of scams that we can face when surfing with a free Wi-Fi network has multiplied in recent years. Here is a list of the most common scams by hackers:
- Fake Wi-Fi network: One of the strategies most commonly used by hackers to obtain sensitive information from their victims is to create a Wi-Fi network with the name of the establishment where the signal is received, such as a bar or restaurant for example, in order to gain access to the device of the unwary who connect to their network. It is therefore particularly advisable not to connect to your online bank from a public Wi-Fi network.
- Man in the Middle: With this type of cyberattack, also known as the middleman, the hacker manages to intercept the data transmission between the victim and the website he is visiting. This allows him to access a large amount of information with little risk of detection.
- Malware: Thanks to the anonymity provided by open Wi-Fi networks, hackers can access devices such as smartphones and laptops and infect them with malicious software to damage them or steal sensitive information from their owners.
- Ransomware: With this type of malware, cybercriminals block functions on the victim’s computer such as the keyboard or mouse, or encrypt important files such as images, banking information, or important documents and then claim a reward to regain control of the computer.
- Data theft: One of the most common risks when connecting to a public Wi-Fi network is the classic theft of the information contained in the files on our laptop or smartphone. Data such as our personal and professional information or passwords can then end up falling into the wrong hands.
How to protect yourself on a public Wi-Fi network
As every problem has its solution, there are certain mechanisms and tools to know how to log on to an open Wi-Fi network without risking losing all your savings or your most important files:
- Wi-Fi network names: Be wary of dubious network names that redirect you to pages where you have to give more information than usual to connect and make sure that it is really the network of the establishment where you are.
- Antivirus: The saying that prevention is better than cure also applies in these cases. Although you probably already have an antivirus on your computer, it is advisable to also install one on your cell phone if you use it to connect to open Wi-Fi networks. There is currently free antivirus for iPhone and Android with which you can detect the presence of malware on your cell phone.
- VPN: Virtual private networks or VPN applications are mainly used to simulate that you are connecting to the Internet from another network, which will make things much more difficult for cybercriminals who want to access your device. But keep in mind that free VPNs are more likely to compromise your online privacy than protect it. That’s why Mrwhosetheboss’s Surfshark offer is a great way to get started with a reliable VPN without paying a penny for the first 3 months.
- Updates: Most software updates for smartphones, tablets, and laptops include improvements to device protection. If you keep the devices with which you connect to public Wi-Fi networks always up to date, you will be able to surf the Internet more safely.
- Online banking: No matter how much you need to know if your paycheck has been paid or your rent has been collected, never try to find out from an open Wi-Fi network, as hackers will find it much easier to obtain sensitive information such as your transactions or your bank account password.