World Wi-Fi Day: Tips to be secure on public Wi-Fi

BANGALORE, INDIA: As we celebrate the World Wi-Fi Day today, let's not forget the security risks associated with public Wi-Fi, especially when it is available everywhere and what seems like a convenience can actually put your inofrmation at a great risk.

Free public Wi-Fi is a hacker’s playground for stealing personal information and ignoring the risks, you could be making yourself an easy target for hackers.

To avoid becoming one of millions of victims of cybercrime, users need to know about the risks of public Wi-Fi and how to stay safe online.

Man-in-the-Middle Attack 

One of the many dangers of using a public Wi-Fi network is that data over this type of open connection is often unencrypted and unsecured, leaving you vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack. When a hacker exploits a security flaw in the network to intercept data, he might get access to sniff out any information that passes between you and the websites you visit — details of browsing activities, account logins, and purchase transactions.

Rogue Hotspots

Another risk of using free public Wi-Fi is that you may be connecting via a rogue hotspot. This is an open hotspot, usually with a name similar to that of a legitimate hotspot, which cybercriminals set up to lure people into connecting to their network. Once a victim connects to the rogue Wi-Fi hotspot, the host hacker can then intercept data and even use tools to inject malware into the connected devices.

Here are a few tips from the Norton Cybersecurity Insights teams to help you make it harder for cybercriminals to steal your information on public Wi-Fi:

1. Avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi. If you must use a public Wi-Fi hotspot, also use a virtual private network (VPN) to secure your connection. A VPN creates a “secure tunnel” where data sent over a Wi-Fi connection is encrypted, making all that data sent to and from your device secure.

2. Don’t log in to password-protected websites that contain sensitive information when using a public Wi-Fi connection — for example, banking and social networking sites, or even email.

3. Keep your software patched and up to date on all your devices — even your mobile ones — to avoid any potential infections by viruses or malware if you do use unsecured public Wi-Fi.