Why You Should Avoid Public WiFi

Translator | Li Rui

Proofread by Sun Shujuan

There are many benefits when people enter public places (such as restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, shopping malls, and libraries, etc.) in addition to interacting with others and enjoying the atmosphere of these places. One of the main benefits of staying in these places is that you can connect to the public WiFi systems available in these places and use Internet data for free. And everyone likes free services and things: free streaming music, downloading large work documents, watching high-quality videos on social media applications, etc., which is attractive to Internet users.

Public WiFi networks are networks of WiFi hotspots set up in public places that allow people in that location to connect to other networks and access the internet. The main difference between public WiFi and private wireless connections is that public WiFi networks have fewer restrictions. This means that anyone in the area can use a public WiFi hotspot, and the risks of using public WiFi are usually related to internet security vulnerabilities. In most cases, public WiFi may be free and easy to use, but it may cost users more in the long run.

1. Dangers of public WiFi

Public WiFi has its dangers: people don’t know who has set up the network or if it has security measures set up. This means that if a user connects to a public WiFi hotspot and logs into their social media accounts or banking apps, cybercriminals can easily exploit the unsecured network and access the sensitive data of these users. This is done through sniffing and spoofing, where cybercriminals buy specialized software packages and equipment to eavesdrop on WiFi signals. They can see everything people do online, including login details and online transactions. When users use these public WiFi networks, they can lose their social media accounts, funds, and sensitive data. If you are a cryptocurrency wallet user and you enter a key phrase or password when using public WiFi, your cryptocurrency wallet can be cloned or hacked. This can mean losing valuable cryptocurrency coins: imagine the consequences of losing a large amount of Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) after using public WiFi.

Encryption is a feature on secure networks that encodes user data to prevent messages from being intercepted by others on the network, but encryption cannot be guaranteed on public WiFi networks. This means it is vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, where a cyber attacker sits between the user and the server, without the user knowing. People's credit card information, traffic and login details can be obtained by cyber criminals and used for fraudulent purposes. For example, loans can be taken out in the name of the user and their social media accounts can be impersonated. Data packets can also be manipulated and malware can be installed on the user's device. The purpose of these malware is to snoop on data and manipulate browsing traffic without the user's knowledge. The purpose of these malicious codes is to run and snoop on the user's data after the cyber attacker has obtained the user's credentials for the websites that the user visits using the public WiFi network.

2. How to maintain data security when using public WiFi

Sometimes it can be difficult to use your own internet data plan in public places, especially if the connection is poor: that's where public WiFi networks can help. But you must always remember that using public WiFi networks with any device, whether it's a phone, tablet or laptop, is not completely safe.

Therefore, users need to use trusted and popular networks: you can confirm the network name and IP address of these places with the staff of cafes, restaurants, malls or libraries. It is important to research and investigate public WiFi because some cybercriminals create fake public WiFi networks with the aim of illegally obtaining user data for fraudulent purposes. Therefore, users should not connect to unknown and unverified public WiFi hotspots and delete any settings on their devices that allow connecting to any WiFi network. In addition, whenever using a public WiFi network, you need to use a VPN for better encryption. This will provide protection for the data and make it less vulnerable to cyber attacks.

As a standard safety measure, users should not log in to access personal or financial information through public WiFi networks. Users should also only log in to encrypted websites: for example, those that start with "https" instead of "http". Users need to log out of their accounts on these public WiFi networks immediately after using them. It is also important not to use the same password for different accounts. This is because if a hack comes from one website, the attacker can easily copy the password and access multiple accounts. Users can do a good job of identifying malicious websites by using a secure browser: pay attention to these warnings and log out of these websites immediately. Users can also install security software and browser plugins to protect against these malicious websites. For example, use security software provided by Kaspersky, Cisco, and Norton. Good plugins to use are Force-TLS and HTTPS Everywhere: they are free for the Firefox browser. These software and plugins will make your browser use encryption measures on popular non-encrypted websites, thus avoiding security vulnerabilities.

3. Why you should avoid using public WiFi

Despite these efforts to ensure safe use of public WiFi networks, no public WiFi hotspot is completely safe. A 2017 Norton WiFi Risk Report found that 59% of respondents admitted to using public WiFi to log into their email accounts. A whopping 56% of respondents used WiFi to log into their social media accounts. This shows that many people use public WiFi to access personal data. And for some people, WiFi access is so important that they have to risk having their email addresses and social media accounts leaked by connecting to these networks.

As a cryptocurrency token holder, WiFi security is very important for the safety of your tokens. Any WiFi security breach may allow cyber criminals to gain access to the user’s cryptocurrency wallet and the user may lose his tokens.

In October 2017, such a bug was discovered in the WiFi protected access protocol used by routers. As a result, sensitive information including the private keys of user wallets was obtained by cybercriminals. This is why cryptocurrency holders need to avoid using public WiFi if they access their cryptocurrency wallets on it and should take all necessary precautions.

Another option to increase the security of your cryptocurrency wallet is to use a hardware wallet, which you can carry with you in public without worrying about cybercriminals stealing your coins. Hardware wallets do not connect to the internet, so you can connect your hardware wallet to your computer while using public WiFi. Your sensitive data will not be shared through your computer, and you can verify transactions on your physical device. However, you should not store private keys, passwords, or recovery phrases in files on your device. This is because such sensitive data can be easily intercepted by cybercriminals on public WiFi networks.

Many people use WiFi to check emails, work remotely, and log into social media accounts. You can imagine how much sensitive personal and corporate data can be exposed on public WiFi networks. Many people have a low level of awareness of the dangers of using these public WiFi networks. No matter how you control the use of public WiFi networks, they will always create vulnerabilities for data leaks.

If someone is asking how to be safer when surfing in public, it is best to carry your own WiFi device and mobile device with you, which can connect to your own hotspot when in public. Because one can never know which public WiFi network is safe, nor the intention of others to set up the network. In some cases, these networks are set up by business owners who want to provide convenience to their customers, but users cannot guarantee the security of their network. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to security and protect the WiFi settings of your device: because not every hotspot connection is good for the user.

Original link: https://hackernoon.com/why-you-should-avoid-using-public-wifi