What is Public Wifi?

Public Wi-Fi is any internet connection that is public and allows free access. These hotspots are commonly connected to and create a risk for your data. Many will frequently connect to open Wi-Fi networks on laptops and other devices to do their work, however users may not know the risk that lies behind this.

What to Know

While these networks may be common and helpful to do work or other activities, there are many risks that lie behind these seemingly safe networks. There are various ways that malicious attackers can use Public Wi-Fi to:

• Read Network Data
• Distribute Malware (unsafe programs)
• Conduct other malicious activity

Malicious attackers can read network data and see unencrypted data, which is data that can be read by anyone. They can grab emails, bank information, passwords and much more. Depending on the network they may be able to distribute malware to devices. At the end of the day, it may be important for a user to connect to public Wi-Fi, however it is important to protect yourself before you connect.

How you can Protect Yourself

The two main ways for one to protect themselves from Public Wi-Fi networks would be using a VPN (Virtual Private Network), or simply not connecting to the networks. A VPN will create a secure tunnel from your device to the network allowing for encrypted and secure communication. VPNs are a great tool to overall protect yourself, but company data as well.