Wi-Fi wireless networks have been one of the most practical innovations in recent decades, thanks to WiFi we will be able to access the Internet easily and quickly without the need for any Ethernet network cable, in addition, it allows us to connect with all the devices that We use today as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and in recent times they are also being used to connect Internet of Things devices. However, public Wi-Fi networks are a danger to your security and privacy if you don’t take the proper measures. Do you want to know the dangers that Wi-Fi networks hide and how you can avoid them to surf safely?
What is public Wi-Fi?
We are sure that many of you have connected at some time, and still do, to public Wi-Fi networks in a bar, restaurant, train and bus station, and even in hotels. Public Wi-Fi networks are wireless networks that are open and do not need any type of authentication to enter, although there are also Wi-Fi networks that are public and have a captive portal for the authentication of different clients, but dangers lurk in the same way, if there is a cybercriminal “listening”, they could capture all the information , and even manipulate it “on the fly” .
Public Wi-Fi networks are so popular because they allow us to save MB in our data rate, in addition, we usually do this especially when we go abroad on vacation or for work, and they are a perfect alternative to the broadband network mobile because it is free , and we will not have to be aware of the data rate and the data consumed by our Internet activities.
The typical actions carried out by users of this type of network is to browse social networks, search for news, check email, but it also allows us to check our bank account. Some activities can be really dangerous for our security and privacy, such as visiting the email or the bank account from this type of Wi-Fi wireless networks.
Risks for the Wi-Fi user
The greatest vulnerability of public Wi-Fi networks is that a potential cybercriminal can carry out a MitM (Man in the Middle) attack to capture all Internet traffic, and will even be able to modify on the fly all the information you send to Internet and that you receive, in order to steal information, get your passwords, and even inject malware into your computer to have full control of it. This type of attack consists of the cybercriminal placing himself in the “middle” of the communication between the client and the Wi-Fi access point, with the aim of capturing and modifying whatever he wants.
Of course, it is highly recommended never to leave shared folders on your PC without passwords, that is, with public access, because a cybercriminal could use the wireless network to send you malware, so you must be very careful and use firewalls on your Personal PC.
How to stay safe on public Wi-Fi
One of the best ways to ensure that we surf the Internet on a public Wi-Fi network with guarantees of security and privacy is by making use of a virtual private network, also known as VPN . A VPN protects all communications that leave and enter the PC, since it will tunnel all the traffic through the VPN server , with the aim that all the tunnelled traffic is fully encrypted and authenticated, in this way, the cybercriminal will not be able to read anything at all Nor will it modify any data, since the VPN will detect that there has been a failure in the integrity of the data, and therefore, it will not accept those “modifications” that have been made.
Internally, what a VPN on a PC does is route the traffic to the VPN server directly , and later we will access the Internet through the public IP of the VPN server, and not directly with the Internet connection of the Wi-Fi network provider public, this guarantees that no one can spy on our communications, much less modify them. However, not all VPNs are configured the same, there are better VPNs that guarantee good data encryption, while other VPNs can lead to security problems such as DNS leaks, weakening the additional security you get when using them. .
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