Keep Your Device Safe: Internet Security and Public WiFi

Public Internet-access points are convenient, which is why they’re such good targets for data thieves and other criminals. Using public WiFi at the airport, coffee shop, or fast-food restaurant exposes your information, and your device, to several threats. 

These tips offer protection without making WiFi access too inconvenient to be worth the hassle.

Use more-secure hotspots

Businesses like coffee shops and fast-food restaurants tend to leave their wireless networks wide open. So do some other public access points, like libraries. If you have to enter a password or key to log in, the network is more secure than the wide-open alternatives.

This does not make your information secure while you’re on that network. Rather, having to log in is a small deterrent to would-be criminals, many of whom prefer softer targets like the wide-open hotspot next door.

Don’t log in

If you want to browse Web sites that require usernames and passwords for transactions—eBay is a good example—stay logged out. This does not prevent others from seeing what you do, but you aren’t giving them your login information.

Tell your computer that this is a public network

In Windows, you can specify that the connection is public. When that happens, your computer blocks access to things like shared files. When you reconnect to your home network later, these features should come back.

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Check your security software

Keep programs like anti-virus and anti-spyware utilities updated and running. That’s a good idea no matter what kind of connection you use. Don’t forget your firewall, which should be up and running.

Secure your Web browser

Pick a Web browser with a good track record re: security. Use add-ons and extensions to make your connection more secure; these additional bits of programming can disable JavaScript, block advertisements, and scan URLs for threats before you open sites.

Use a VPN

A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, uses encryption for added security. Additional protocols put more roadblocks in a potential criminal’s way without causing you too much inconvenience. If your employer has a VPN, you can probably log in through that if you have a work-issued laptop or other, portable device.

Act like you’re in public

On a public network, everything you send or receive—banking-account information, usernames and passwords, even e-mail—is potentially public. Before you visit a site or take any other action, ask yourself, “Would I want this out there in front of everybody?” If the answer is “no,” you should probably find a more-secure connection.

There’s no way to prevent all the potential problems associated with using a public Internet connection. Minimizing risks with basic, security measures makes your computer and information more difficult for the average criminal to access, which is enough of a deterrent in most situations.

Sarah Borroum

About the Guest Author:

The author Sarah Borroum has just had to go out and buy another wireless router. Hopefully this one will last a bit longer.