Airports have it. Hotels have it. National fast food chains offer it too. In fact, in some locations, the prompts you will receive on a smartphone to sign in can become pretty annoying at times.
I’m talking about free Wi-Fi.
As handy as being able to use someone else’s bandwidth is – rather than your data plan – using free Wi-Fi isn’t without its unintended consequences or, as I prefer to think of them, pitfalls. Public Wi-Fi is the equivalent of posting your phone’s data and your Internet activities on a neon sign on an expressway or to a public Facebook profile for all to see.
With a packet sniffer, it’s relatively easy for someone with limited technical abilities to intercept your data on this type of network. OK, you say, I have nothing to hide. Well, do you use Wi-Fi to log into accounts? Would you be willing to part with your passwords and answers to security questions?
That’s why today’s tip is to use public Wi-Fi sparingly or, better yet, not at all, especially if what you do requires any kind of confidentiality, integrity or availability. If you must, then pay for a virtual private network (VPN) service. For a few dollars a month, you can use a VPN service on multiple devices to protect your communications. Just keep in mind that some service providers keep logs and that involving a third-party means you are trusting someone else with your data/communications. While the risks are fewer, they still exist.