Whenever we come across anything free, our minds are pre-programmed to make the most of it. We want use everything which is available ‘Freely’. But there is nothing like free stuff. Everything comes at a cost. Same is the case with the ‘Free’ public Wifis which we come across in airports or any cafes. With the advancement of technology, wireless networking has become the norm. People can easily connect to the Free public wifi with their Laptops,mobile phones ipads or any internet enabled device.

But what people don’t know is that these free public wifi could be extremely dangerous. It is very much possible that these ‘free’ public wifi hotspots could had been setup by a hacker to get sensitive information. These connections are to the hackers computer, a computer-to-computer connection, rather than a connection to the airport’s official wireless network. Once you get connected to the hackers computer it takes no time for him to track down all your sensitive information like internet banking password, credit card information or any other important data. And to make the matters worse setting up a fake Wifi hotspot is not at all difficult. You can easily get the information on any hacker website.

So, how to protect yourself from these hackers in Wifi environments? Below are a few tips on the same:

-Try as much not to use your credit card, internet banking or any other service with money matter unless it is very important.

-Always make sure you connect to a service with is authorised & legitimate. Don’t go for those Wifis which you feel suspicious.

-Always keep shared folders off, when using a public wifi. Otherwise this could be the source for entering into your laptop…and you know the consequenses.

-Keep your antivirus software up to date, to prevent and viruses or spyware coming into your device.

-Finally, keep your wireless card off, if you don’t plan to connect it to internet or any other device. Otherwise your laptop/mobile might automatically connect to any wifi, thereby increasing the hacker invasion and decreasing your battery at the same time.

Tags: free wifi, public wifi, internet security, wifi for laptop, mobile wifi, net security, wifi security