Free Wi-Fi threats
Stopped for a coffee & want to check your office emails? Want to check your salary has arrived in your bank account?
Don’t ….. do it later
Free Wi-Fi threats – they are un-secured so connecting a mobile device (phone, laptop, etc) to (un-secured) Wi-Fi is inherently insecure – the likelihoods of you being hacked or attacked are vastly increased; public Wi-Fi networks do not require a password and people are lulled into a false sense of security by the convenience.
Because there is no security password required to access the Wi-Fi service, the service is “open” and therefore totally insecure; anyone else could log onto the Wi-Fi service and easily launch an attack or pass Malware across to any device on that network.
Always use Wi-Fi that requires a password – at least some level of security – even if it costs at the time – it will be more secure and, wherever possible, only access secure websites that show an “https://” addresses. But websites with “https://” addresses only encrypt certain Internet traffic, such as mail, and not the complete communication and contents.
To increase the security, use a VPN (Virtual Private Network), it encrypts the entire communication; software on the laptop will control the VPN and access; VPN access can be bought on the Internet and are quite cost effectively now.
Most people don’t know the ease that an attacker can intercept their communications; an attacker could “spoof” (pretend to be) the Wi-Fi service (capturing your key-strokes, login details & passwords) and could pass specific Malware to your device. How often have you been in a café, pub, airport or station and a dozen free Wi-Fi services are visible – make sure you’re connecting to a real network – check with local services.
Rogue access point can deliver Malware, Viruses, Worms etc – they can also “watch and record” all of your keystrokes – thus taking your identity, passwords and money! Stay safe …. get a VPN