Tech Tip: The Scary Truth About Public Wifi

It’s a little burst of happiness when you find some public wifi at the airport or at the mall, especially if you’re running low on data. But this opportunity is often too good to be true. 

One of the problems that runs rampant on public wifi are rogue hotspots. Hackers can create a signal that intercepts your attempt to connect to the public wifi. This rogue hotspot looks just like the wifi that you’re trying to connect to, but hackers can see everything you do and potentially access sensitive information. 

Some public wifi may also be running outdated encryption protocols. In this case, it’s easy for hackers to access the entire network and see what everyone is doing who is connected. 

To stay safe on public wifi, be sure to never enter any sensitive information. If you’re just opening Google Maps, that’s no problem. But wait for bills and online purchases. 

Adapted from Norton.