There’s no arguing that the free public WiFi at your favorite coffee shop is a great convenience. Whether you are working out of the office or just need to jump on your tablet to check email on the go, having access to the internet is becoming easier and easier. But there are risks to using public WiFi, and if you’re not careful you can put yourself and your company in a bad situation. Here are 3 secret truths that you might not know about using free public WiFi.
Even Encrypted Sites Aren’t Always Safe
A good rule of thumb when using public WiFi is to avoid online banking or doing anything sensitive. This is because when you connect to an open network such as the ones at a coffee shop or airport, the overall network is unencrypted. That means that your traffic is clearly visible to anyone in range with an interest in what you’re doing. So while they might not be able to see what you are doing on your bank’s encrypted website, they can see that you are doing online banking and that makes you vulnerable.
Hackers Have Some Impressive Tools
There are a number of hacking tools available that allow people who are on an open WiFi network to snoop on other people’s browsing sessions and even hijack the session. Other tools are available to capture and analyze traffic, and even what information you are inputting into a site (such as passwords). Additionally, you just don’t know who else is connected to the network. If another computer on the network is compromised (with a virus for example), that can also put your device at risk of infection. The technology hackers use to gain access to your device and your personal information is constantly evolving, so while you might have the most up to date anti-virus software and firewalls, there is always someone out there coming up with the next great idea in terms of computer hacking.
Hotspots Themselves Can Be Malicious
Not every hotspot you encounter is created with the intention of providing customers with a convenience. Malicious hotspots can be a real danger to computer users. You can’t really be sure whether a business’s hotspot has been infected or whether you have unknowingly joined a honeypot network which was set up by an attacker in the attempt to trick people into connecting.
Protecting Yourself
The bottom line is that you should avoid doing online banking or accessing sensitive data on public WiFi networks. If you need to connect to public WiFi on a regular basis, consider investing in a VPN which will allow you to bypass any filtering or website-blocking in place on a network, and anyone snooping on your browsing session will only see that you’re connected to the VPN but not what you are doing. Furthermore, when accessing a public network for the first time, always set the network location to Public so your computer knows that it is a public network and is not to be trusted. Always keep your computer up to date and leave your firewall enabled.
About Happy Faces Records Management
At HF Services, our imaging, destruction and recycling services make it easy to keep your data safe from prying eyes. We scan your documents to provide secure storage and destroy hard copies to protect privacy. Our processes conform to government regulations and consider environmental concerns.
HF Services provides highly secure shredding services and technologies that include a patented process for the shredding and recycling of medical film. Whether you are destroying paper-based documents or computers, digital media or other electronic items, our processes adapt to fit the needs of the items being destroyed.
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