Connecting to public Wi-Fi: Here’s how to protect your data and your device

The way we work has changed. The rise of remote and hybrid work means many office workers are no longer tied to one office, at least not always.

While working from home is a very viable option for many people, sometimes a change of scenery is nice – which is why some of us work in cafes, coffee shops, or even in unconventional places like a boat or a van.

Then chances are you’re traveling for work — or going on vacation — and you want to open your laptop or smartphone to be able to check in your email, social media, banking application, or online shopping account while you’re on the go—an airport, an Hotel lobby or a conference venue.

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If you do, chances are the public area you are in has free WiFi for everyone to use.

By providing public WiFi, the venue allows people to use the internet, which is useful for users and could encourage them to stay longer in public spaces.

For example, if you work at a coffee shop and are happy with the connection, you might stay longer and buy extra drinks or snacks while you’re there.

But while they’re useful, the nature of public Wi-Fi networks means they’re open to everyone — and the data transmitted isn’t as secure as it is on your home or office network.

Your login names, passwords, banking details, and other personal information could all be at risk if you’re not careful when using public WiFi — either because the network itself is insecure, or a malicious hacker has set up on the same network and is routing data that input by others, through channels they can see.

Here are some steps you can take to protect your data from cybercriminal hackers and other privacy threats while using public WiFi.

Think about what you connect to

You’re at an airport looking at the available Wi-Fi connections and you see something called “Free Airport Wi-Fi” – seems reasonable enough, doesn’t it? An airport is a place where people often have to wait for long periods of time, so connecting a phone or laptop to the internet seems like a sensible idea – while avoiding the expense of using your own data.

But how do you know it’s really an airport-provided Wi-Fi network? It may be a network set up by a criminal hoping to take people by surprise – after all, hundreds of thousands of people pass through an airport every day. If only a fraction of them log into a fake Wi-Fi network, there is a chance that a criminal could steal a lot of data.

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And all this by using relatively simple, store-bought devices, setting up a network and being able to connect to it.

With the right tools, whoever runs this fake network may be able to see what information is being entered, which could result in the data being stolen. Because of this, it is important to verify that the network is legitimate.

Pay attention to which websites you visit and what data you enter

Many public Wi-Fi networks require information from you so you can register to use them. This data can be your email address or even your phone number. If you don’t want to run the risk of the company providing the WiFi storing your information or using it for marketing purposes, consider using a secondary email address.

Some networks also require you to set up a password to use the WiFi. In this case, do not use the same password that you use for another account – especially if that password is tied to your email address. Adopting this approach means that if the passwords are somehow leaked, it cannot be used to access any of your other accounts linked to your email address.

You should also be careful about what data you share on public Wi-Fi networks, and you should avoid using it if you need to do anything that involves sharing sensitive information like usernames, passwords, and banking information.

The nature of public Wi-Fi means that activity can be seen by someone else, which is especially the case if the site is not secured with https. However, just because the website is https doesn’t necessarily mean it’s secure – and you should be careful about what information you enter.

Forget the network when you’re done using it

If you travel a lot, you might find yourself connecting to the same networks on different occasions — for example, passing through the airport at both ends of the journey, or you might visit a coffee chain that has venues in multiple locations .

If you have previously connected to a network or network provider, your device may reconnect automatically. It’s easy to forget that, and you might assume the network is secure — but it’s possible that something may have changed between visits.

To stay safe, you should set your device to forget previously used networks — or at least tell it not to automatically reconnect to them. You can manually reconnect to the network if you want, but only after you’re sure you want to connect.

Consider using a VPN

Sometimes using Wi-Fi on a public network is unavoidable. But even if you are confident that the network is legitimate and safe to use, there is one additional step you can take to protect your information — using a virtual private network (VPN).

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VPNs offer two important services to keep your information private and secure. First, they encrypt your data – this is useful on public Wi-Fi networks as they are mostly unencrypted. Using a VPN makes it difficult for the network operator – or anyone who might try to use that network maliciously – to see what information you are sending and receiving.

Second, they can also disguise your IP address and hide your geographic location — a feature important to those who need online privacy.

For anyone who travels a lot or who regularly needs to connect to WiFi in public spaces, a VPN is a useful tool to stay safe online. There are many different providers and their VPNs are easy to install. If you want to use the VPN, sign in and run it like any other application.

You might be tempted to opt for a free VPN service. However, while VPNs are designed to protect your privacy, some free services ask for unnecessary permissions or don’t even completely hide your data. While it’s recommended that someone who needs a VPN on a regular basis should pay for one, some of the big and well-respected VPN providers offer limited free versions.

Or don’t connect at all and connect from your smartphone instead

Even if you exercise caution, connecting to a public Wi-Fi network carries a risk—albeit a small one. But there is an alternative to connecting to public Wi-Fi: using your smartphone’s mobile data.

If you connect to the internet on your smartphone, it already does. But if you want to connect your laptop to the internet, you can turn your smartphone into a Wi-Fi hotspot and connect from there.

This trend is increasing as 5G smartphones become more common, offering users much faster speeds than a congested public Wi-Fi network.

If you choose to connect via tethering, make sure the connection is secured with a complex password so no one else can access it.