Tip of the Day 11/06
So you like going to the coffee shop and paying for overpriced dirt water and sugar? They have free Wi-Fi though, so we like going there and working. This is a typical scenario for many of us, but did you know you might be at risk for threats that could be lurking in the background of your favorite public WiFi hotspot?
The problem with public Wi-Fi is that there is a tremendous number of risks that go with these networks. While the business owners believe they are providing a valuable service to their customers, chances are the security on these networks are lax or nonexistent. The risks include but are not limited to Man-in-the-middle attacks, open text traffic, malware distribution, snooping and sniffing, malicious hotspots, or so many other techniques that could make you the victim of not only overly priced coffee but to your PII data.
There are a few things you can do to ensure you are safe using these networks.
- Don’t allow your computer or device to auto-connect to these networks.
- Don’t log into any application or website with sensitive information
- Turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth when not using them
- Disable file sharing on your computer
- Only visit HTTPS sites, this ensures your traffic and passwords are encrypted
- Log out of sites instead of closing the window. This prevents session jacking
- Use a personal VPN like NordVPN or honestly any paid-for VPN service of your choice.
I hope this tip was useful! Stay safe enjoy your coffee, and ask yourself can you hack it?
MUCH LOVE! ~JT