Also known as a “hotspot”, free Wi-Fi, as the name suggests, gives you free Internet access within a certain area. Coffee shops are now famous for being hot spots, for example. Wi-Fi spots have become very popular since we all became dangerously addicted to the internet, and we carry our laptops the same way we carry our bags or keys.
Today it is quite common to see someone sitting at a restaurant table, or on a park bench, surfing the Internet. Gone are the days when this seemed truly unbelievable; like the days when we thought it was weird when we saw people talking on the phone in a car.
We think this is cool, this whole “going mobile” thing. One minute you’re walking around town, the next minute you’re taking a seat at the nearest cafe, opening your laptop, and voila: the entire World Wide Web is at your fingertips. You can pay your bills and order a latte at the same time. In fact, there is only one thing that we think is totally No great about this: those who would steal your personal information and pry into your private life. Call it a virtual voyeur if you want, but the legal system calls it theft! Theft can occur in various ways, so which one in particular are we talking about? We’re talking about theft that some people ignore (or are unaware of) because, let’s face it, using your laptop anywhere, anytime is super convenient. And most of us still believe in the fallacy that nothing bad will ever happen to U.S.
You can be hacked no matter how you connect to the internet, so here are a few things to think about when that Double Mocha Mint Hazelnut Espresso beckons you; or if you are at home “borrowing” the Internet from your neighbors. This brings us to a side note: Geeks On Site certainly doesn’t condone connecting to a wireless network that you’ve “borrowed” because you’re actually “stealing” Internet from someone else (who’s also footing the bill). . Although “borrowing” is not dangerous per se, it might be useful to remember that if you can connect to a wireless network, other people can too. And while you may not have bad intentions, you never know about the other basically anonymous people who are jumping into that connection with you.
First, let’s look at some ways that you might deduce that another person or people are on the same connection. your computer takes Always carry. Does this symptom sound familiar to you? This doesn’t mean that every time your computer is slow, someone else accesses your connection, and if you’re on a free Wi-Fi space, you simply have no control over who you share the connection with. However, if it’s your personal line at home, be aware of a slow connection that could be a sign that someone else is using your connection at the same time, causing the Internet connection to weaken. In this case, remember to lock/block your internet connection.
So what is the real danger of someone connecting to your line or sharing a line with you in a free Wi-Fi area? For starters, imagine someone accessing your bank or credit card information, while pretending to be you, while taking out numerous lines of credit or loans and racking up huge bills. You can knowingly open your computer and give a hacker a fantastic opportunity to use your name, credit, and money for fun. Also understand that it is up to you to defend yourself if someone steals your identity. And some companies, to protect themselves, have very little sympathy for people who claim their identity has been stolen; those companies just want the outstanding bill to be paid.
Where and how does this happen? Recently, people reported cases of system intrusions while at an airport. Airports are the most convenient places for pirates because so many people travel with their laptops and, while waiting between their flights, they are working or just surfing to pass the time. Those ‘hotspots’ may be called “free Wi-Fi”, but they could actually be fake networks or a peer-to-peer connection (you’re browsing through the hacker’s computer). And while a person is browsing the Internet, hackers do the work of surfing the victim’s computer, stealing information such as passwords, social security numbers, credit card and bank account numbers, etc.
Identity theft is a scary thing, but the main thing is not to panic, because there are things you can do to make your laptop more secure. First of all, you should try to connect securely. Which means you should never connect to an unknown Wi-Fi, even if the network name sounds innocuous (like “Wi-Fi without airport” or something very simple like that) because a hacker can change your network name to whatever you want, so create a name that sounds legitimate, or even use the name offered by the airport itself. Also, our guard may be a bit down because we are tired or worried about the journey.
Disable automatic connections, which means you need to check if your computer will automatically connect to any wireless networks within its range. You must disable this feature to have full control over your computer and Internet connections.
Turn off file sharing – we don’t have to add anything to this one!
Create a virtual private network (VPN) through which you establish a private network in the public network and prevent hackers from intercepting your data.
We hope you found this article useful and if you never thought about your Wi-Fi security before, start thinking about it now to protect yourself and your information from vultures waiting to collect any information they can use to your advantage. . So beware of ‘free’ Wi-Fi networks and protect your computers as much as you can!