Wi-Fi in airports, hotels, coffee shops and other public places may be convenient, but they're often not secure. Individuals with malicious intent may establish free Wi-Fi networks to eavesdrop on your connection to steal your credentials, financial or other sensitive information, or to inject malware.
Wisdom When Using Wi-Fi
To minimize the risk:
- Verify that the Wi-Fi hotspot you’re using is fully encrypted by looking for the lock in the lower status bar or “https” in the URL, noting the “s” for security.
- Only submit personal information through websites that you know are fully encrypted.
- If you think you’re logged in to a secure site, but discover it’s an un-encrypted page, log out immediately.
Encryption
There are three types of encryption that are commonly used by Wi-Fi networks:
- WPA - protects your information against common hacking programs
- WPA2 - offers stronger protection of your information against common hacking programs
- WEP - may not offer these protections. When in doubt, assume the connection is not secure
Avoid high risk behavior
Convenience now may result in hassles later. Staying permanently signed-in to an account or using the same password on many different sites increases your vulnerability. It is recommended to:
- Log out when you finish using an account.
- Create different passwords for each account, so multiple accounts will not be compromised if one account is breached.