Nowadays, advanced technology becomes the normality of the day and there are easy wifi connections for people to connect from anywhere. However, have you ever thought about what might cost you for this free service (Public WiFi)? In fact, public WiFi can really put your online security at risk and even invade your privacy. Continue reading and find out why using public WiFi is dangerous to your business.
Data exposure
The major risk with public Wi-Fi is the fact that all the information you are transferring between your computer and destination is visible to everyone on the network. Therefore, attackers can intercept the communication between your device and the other end where you get information from or send to. Such data exposure will cause danger to your online privacy.
Some potential snooping
Even with the protection of HTTPS, some potential snooping could still be happening because encrypted DNS is’t yet widespread. When you connect to any website, your device contacts its configured DNS server over the network and finds the IP address. In other words, some snoopers with bad intentions nearby could even monitor all the websites you browse while you are connected to the public Wi-Fi.
Malicious Wi-Fi hotspot
Public Wi-Fi may lead to a malicious hotspot which could redirect you to malicious websites. For example, if you are connecting to a malicious Wi-Fi hotspot and need to access your bank account in the website of Bank of America, it could forward you to a phishing website with similar address impersonating the real bank. As a result, they will capture your login details and even steal your personal sensitive data.
Malware
Public Wi-Fi may contain some dangerous malware which potentially gives the hackers the access to your device. They can steal your personal files, photos and even secretly turn on cameras or microphones to eavesdrop without you even knowing.
Now you know how dangerous connecting to a public Wi-Fi is! So, think twice if it’s really worth to risk your own online security to get the internet. If you really need to do so, make sure that you are connecting to the trustful network and do not access anything sensitive.
Image by isuru prabath from Pixabay
