Public WiFi that comes free of cost seems to be extremely convenient for users who wish to make use of it as much as possible. But somewhere in this want of freebie, there is a great risk involved. These days a free WiFi network is available at many public places. You can find it at the airport, hotels and many other public places. At some places the network has a password to access the Internet else all you need to do is “sign in” by simply checking off their Terms & Conditions agreement.
There is a major risk of logging on out here as your information gets in the danger zone by using public WiFi. It is mainly because if whoever sets up the network fails to address the potential security concerns then someone can misuse that network and chances of them taking advantage of it are very high. The major issue lies if the connection is insecure. Spencer Lichtenstein, Senior Director of Technology at Onyx CTS informed Reader’s Digest that – “Having a secured connection is a very expensive affair and it does require a little bit of extra time and effort.”
Using WIFI without proper security precautions like a strong password, a time limit on WiFi use, wifi filtering and site-filtering software in place might end up in paying a huge price. Public WiFi networks are more vulnerable to threats from hackers who are looking to steal people’s private information that can include anything from usernames and passwords to bank account information. It totally depends on what exactly one is doing on the public WiFi network. Another danger that is much easier for people to fall victim to on public WiFi networks is “Phishing attacks”.
Well Lichtenstein does assure that one definitely need not to give up on public WiFi completely. He recommends that one should be careful and do only those set of transactions that would be OK with everyone seeing else avoid doing it. Downloading a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is another helpful way to escape from mishap as VPN provides you with a degree of privacy. Also one should keep updating their devices at regular intervals.