Public Wi-Fi Risks And How To Minimize Them, A Guide To Stay Safe

We live in 2017, a year full of mobile devices, applications, emails and mobile games. We simply cannot live without the internet but there are times when we should login via a public wi-fi. But did you know about the public wi-fi risks that you encounter each day, without even realizing it?

While most of the public wi-fi stations are secure there are some businesses which use to snoop some informational data out of your cell phone. “A virus” you might you have thought. Technically this is not a virus, but spyware (since its job isn’t to destroy your phone, but to only gather some personal data for advertising reasons).

Public Wi-Fi Risks And Third Party Ads

This personal data can be used so that they can identify what you like, what you dislike, where you spend most of your money at and when there’s a really hard time to sell you something. It’s similar to youtube and google ads, but there’s a whole huge difference… You agree to their terms.

I have completely no problem when a company gathers some data of mine to sell me items that I might possibly like, especially when I use their application for free and they’ve got no other way of monetizing their app.

But when someone uses spyware to sell my data to third party businesses without my permission, then this is a whole different story. And this is just the light part of the public wi-fi risks.

There are also hackers that may inject viruses to your phone or even “record” your keyboard typing by using keyloggers. 99% of the time they do that to gain access to your personal data, in an illegitimate way, such as your Visa Card or MasterCard.

It’s not rare that I see people completing an order on ebay or amazon using public wi-fi. And unfortunately, the amount of people that have no idea these public wi-fi risks exist, is quite high.

I know that you’ve started the order when you’ve been at your house, but please just have a little more patience and make sure to complete it at your house too! Patience can save you a lot money in the long run, cause I’m sure you wouldn’t want to see your card credited by $1.000 in one night!

Public Wi-Fi Risks – The Best Way To Stay Safe

In this chapter, we’ll take a look at the most popular way to stay safe online and avoid being hacked. Make sure to keep a note of this advice next time you login via a public wi-fi, so that you’ll avoid all the public wi-fi risks that you may encounter!

• Consider connecting to a VPN.

A VPN, also known as “Virtual Private Network”, is a service which allows you to browse the net anonymously. When you use your cell phone and connect to the internet you get an IP automatically and this is the first thing that a VPN hides.

A IP is a long number that shows where you’re logging in from. This is most commonly used by businesses to show advertisements connected to your location. It’d make no sense to advertise a store in India, if you actually live in the United States, since the chance of ordering from that store is almost 0.

What a VPN is also doing, is to encrypt your data using some fancy technology which makes the attacker’s life hard. Encryption, as the name implies, hides your important files from anonymous intruders, such as personal photos, cellphone number or even emails which can be stolen and used for advertising purposes without your concern.

Final Words

We live in an era where the internet is becoming larger each day and threats multiply. But as the public wi-fi threats become faster, the encryption, safety and anti-theft programs become smarter.

It’s always wise to use anti-spyware software to keep your cellphone safe from attacks and in many cases you can even invest in software, if it’s really worth it.

No matter how many programs are developed each day, don’t forget the no1 rule of staying safe… Do not visit dangerous places in the first place!

It’s perfectly fine to check out your emails on public wi-fi stations, since the email providers have their own anti theft systems, but never use credit cards without knowing that the wi-fi provider you’re connecting from has absolutely zero purpose of harm.

What are your thoughts about the public wi-fi risks? How do you stay safe? Let us know in the comment section below!

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