Wi-Fi is needed and used everywhere: cafes, bookstores, retail or department stores, museums, and local pizzerias. Anywhere public you can think of may have wi-fi. Once logging on, you are immediately part of the internet through your phone or computer. However, with public wi-fi also comes with the danger of hackers and intruders gaining your private information faster.
Here are a few best tips to maintain your security at all times:
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- Strong passwords – The use of strong passwords can come in handy when it is most needed. Having a sufficiently strong password limits the chance of anyone cracking through password or getting through your information. When using a weak password, it simply increases your chances of your system being compromised, especially when working on public Wi-Fi.
- Wireless encryption – Encryption has become more and more common from WhatsApp to Google encryption. WPA is a current and common encryption standard that works great.
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- Turn off sharing – When using your phone, it is important to know what settings and apps can keep you secure. For example at home, sharing files to other computers on a network is safe and easy. However, on public Wi-Fi, it’s safer to turn off sharing. Simply go to your control panel on Windows or system preferences on OS X > sharing and then make sure that all boxes are off. This should also include your wireless network interface. It should be turned off by default, and only turn it on when in need to connect to a wireless network. Having it open allows attacks for malicious security crackers to use as a target.
- Consider your mobile device – If you need to access websites that require input of sensitive information, it could be safe to do it from your mobile phone network, instead of a public Wi-Fi connection. This includes social media sites, online shopping and online banking as well.