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How to ensure safety over Public WIFI?

Free Wi-Fi is available in shopping malls, airports, coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, public transport, and hotel rooms. These networks are used by the lots of people for every day. In recently survey by ITRC, three out of four respondents said they use free public Wi-Fi. Nevertheless, what most people don’t realize is that free public Wi-Fi isn’t secure. It requires a password to login that does not necessarily mean your online activities are safe. You might love public Wi-Fi, but so do hackers.

How Hackers Can Use Public Wi-Fi to Steal Your Identity

There are two main types of attacks through which cyber-criminals can use shared public Wi-Fi to gain access to your personal information or steal your identity.

1. Hackers on the Same Network

The hackers' ultimate objective is getting connected to the network where multiple users are already connected; making public Wi-Fi networks excellent targets. Once he gains entry into such a network, they can deploy his tactics to take control of all the data and communications taking over this network.

One of the most common techniques hackers use to intercept data of people on the same network is also called MITM (Man in the middle). This is where cyber-criminals intercept communications between clients (users of public Wi-Fi) and the public Wi-Fi router. They are able to capture and view for all the incoming and outgoing data. Another risk to being on the same network as the hacker is the ability to file share. If you have file-sharing enabled while the network, the hacker can send you files infected with malware.

2. Hackers Who Create a Fake Wi-Fi Hotspot

This is other technique to trick unsuspecting customer joining the fake network put up by the hacker. They can gain access to your personal information for your social accounts and financial credentials or other sensitive information that may be crucial to your well-being. They can also have access to your files, if the file sharing option is enabled on your system.

Other tactic is once you connect to the fake network, hackers can push malware on your device by sending fake warnings on your system upgrade. Rather than upgrading, they install malware which can broadcast your sensitive information for real-time such as your system’s documents, photos, communication logs and much more.

Five Tips to Keep Your Data Safe on Public network Wi-Fi

If you can’t avoid public Wi-Fi networks, you should at least ensure you’re well-protected when using them. Fortunately, there are many useful tips that you can follow to yourself safe on public Wi-Fi networks such as:

1. Use Antivirus

Antivirus can help protect you while by using public Wi-Fi by detecting malware that might get into your system while using the shared network. Always make sure to use new versions for antivirus program i.e installed on your device. An alert will be shown if any known viruses are loaded on your device and if there’s any malicious attack, suspicious activity and malware gets into your system via network.

2. Use HTTPS

Virtual Private Network making sure you are only visiting encrypted sites can also help protect your data from some of the threats outlined for above.

Look for HTTPS at the beginning of a website’s address. That means the connection between the browser and the web server is encrypted, so more data submitted to the website will be safe from eavesdropping and tampering. Most browsers also include a padlock symbol at the beginning of the address to indicate the site uses encryption.

3. verifies the Network; Configure and Turn off Sharing

Remember that hackers are very clever, so it’s better to surf and play smart. Read the network name very carefully and ask an employee of the business if the link is legitimate. You can also ask the offering IP address. The hackers often set up fake networks, so verify the name to avoid being victim. So right after you verify the network, turn off the file sharing option. File sharing is usually pretty easy to turn off from the system preferences or control panel, depending on your operating system.

4. Use a VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is the highly secure option to surf on public networks. It is one of the most useful tools to help people keep of their information secure when logged on to public networks. Virtual Private Network encrypt your data traffic and protected tunnel between the client (browser) and server. All the data passing through the tunnel would be visible to hackers and they would not be able to access your information and the activities you do online.

Virtual Private Network is they mask your IP with their own IP address from different location. You could physically be in the Australia, but your Virtual Private Network would show that you are in different location. Not all Virtual Private Network services are created for equal. There is some free Virtual Private Network that is less secure than the paid ones. Paid Virtual Private Network does cost some money, but they give additional security to your needs.

5. Keep the Firewall Enabled

Turning on the firewall can prevent hackers’ unauthorized external access to your system. A firewall would not provide complete protection, but it is setting that should always be enabled. A firewall also acts as the barrier that protects your device from data-based malware threats. It actively monitors the data packets that come from networks and checks whether they are safe or not. It sees any malicious data packet; it gets blocked by the firewall. By blocking certain kinds of data, the firewall protects your computer or network and safeguards your data from attacks.

Usually, turn off the Windows firewall because of the annoying pop ups and notifications and then just completely forget about it. If you want to restart it, and then head over to the Control Panel, go to the ‘System and Security’ and choose ‘Windows Firewall’. If you are a Mac user, you can go to the ‘System Preferences’, then ‘Security & Privacy’, then select ‘Firewall’ tab and enable Firewall on Mac.

Other Important Tips to Stay Safe on Public Wi-Fi Networks

Some other tips, here are many recommended tips for keeping your system secure on public Wi-Fi such as:

• Always turn off automatic connection.
• Always use two factor authentications - this way, even if a hacker obtains your username and password, they still would not be able to access your accounts.
• Always check forget network and after using public Wi-Fi.
• Do not run financial transactions over public networks.

And most important, by using these insecure networks, it’s better to use your smart-phone as a hotspot.Digital security is much more important and need to understand the risks for public Wi-Fi. This may prevent internet users and our loved ones from falling victim to data thefts.