As we are in the midst of the holiday season, some who are seeking some sort of normalcy may still be traveling to see family or friends. One of the first things many people do when staying away in a hotel, or spending time in a public place, is to connect to the Wi-Fi. Before doing what seems like a simple and harmless action, it’s important to know all the warnings that come with it so you are protected. After all, once the COVID pandemic is over, travel will pick up again and these threats will continue to be there.
The FBI is concerned about the public Wi-Fi that is being offered to people across the United States. It has been found that hackers will zero in on public Wi-Fi to obtain personal information from guests. They will create a malicious wireless network that looks similar to the actual Wi-Fi service. If someone were to connect to this malicious network, the hacker would be able to easily steal personal and confidential information from the guest.
The easiest way to avoid unsecure public Wi-Fi is to simply not use it. But, if you still do need to use it, there are some ways that you can protect your devices and hopefully not fall victim to these types of attacks.
- Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to get protection from outside eyes that can encrypt your internet traffic.
- Make sure your devices have been updated to the newest versions of their operating systems and that all recent security patches have been applied.
- Avoid accessing any accounts or files that carry sensitive data.
- Make sure to use two-factor authentication when logging into accounts.
- Use your smartphone to create a mobile hotspot, rather than connecting to the public Wi-Fi.
