If you are a normal wifi user, you have used public wifi at some time. Whether it was at a church, fast-food restaurant, hotel or an airport, the temptation is too great to refuse. Public wifi is a free wifi connection that does not use encryption. It is a broadcast that is wide open and can be monitored by any identity thief in the area. In fact, in a public environment, on the free wifi list, might be a thief’s hotspot, just waiting for you to connect.
At your home or your business, especially if Computer PC Medic, Computer Repair in Fort Collins set up your wifi, you are using WPA2 between your wifi device and your wifi router. WPA2 is the latest method of encryption that protects your wifi transmissions, to and from your device and router, from evil people who want to spy on your Internet activity. In a public wifi environment, your wifi connection is not encrypted and easily readable by a nearby wifi “spy”. This means your keystrokes are readable, which includes passwords.
So is free wifi safe? In general, unless you are just reading articles, you should assume that someone is watching your activity. If you have to make any financial transactions, make sure the website address starts with “https:” rather than “Http:”. The “s” stands for a secure encrypted connection.
Use your smartphones’ hotspot
If you want to be more secure, at a free wifi location, turn on your smartphones’ “personal hotspot”. Make sure you have a strong wifi password for your hotspot. Connect your wifi device by searching for your smartphones’ name and enter your password. Now your connection to the Internet is using your smartphone’s data plan, through your protected cell phone connection and is safe.