Is public wifi safe to use

Is public Wi‑Fi safe?

Did you know that using public Wi‑Fi carries major safety risks? Read on to find out about the most common threats and the easy solutions to staying protected.

Why it is not safe to use public Wi‑Fi

Our devices are perhaps at their most vulnerable when connected to a public hot­spot. This is because on a public net­work your device and traffic are vulnerable to the hot­spot owner, and in some cases anyone else inside. In essence, this means that the web­sites that you visit and all unencrypted information that you send can be seen by any­one in the same café or airport lounge.

Common public Wi‑Fi safety issues

We might think that a pass­word-protected public net­work is secure. But if the pass­word is available to any­one who asks, how could it possibly help your security? Even worse, a lot of public Wi‑Fi safety threats do not even require the hacker to join the net­work.

A common trick that hackers use is called the Evil Twin. If you see a hot­spot with the name of a café or the words “FREE AIR­PORT WIFI”, do you think twice about joining? Criminals can set up hot­spots with innocent names using inexpensive, store-bought devices. They then steal the data of every­one connecting to their so-called free Wi‑Fi. Verify that the net­work is safe. If you can’t, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Another very common hacking trick is called the man-in-the-middle attack. This involves a criminal on the same hot­spot inserting them­selves between you and the rest of the inter­net and compromising your public Wi‑Fi security. Instead of connecting to your favorite online shop or online bank, the hacker may instead connect you to a page that looks similar. You might think you are entering your user­name and pass­word into a safe place but are in fact feeding them straight to the hacker.

How to use public Wi‑Fi safely

All the above methods are just different ways of getting to the same thing: your data. Criminals want to get their hands on your login credentials, your credit card details, and your banking info. Here’s how you can avoid that and use public Wi‑Fi safely.

• Avoid conducting sensitive activities over public Wi‑Fi. As a rule, remember that unless you’re connecting to an “https” site, any­thing you do over public Wi‑Fi is an easy target for snooping.
• Set your device to forget previously used Wi‑Fi net­works, or just turn Wi‑Fi off when you’re not using it. This will keep your device from automatically connecting to Wi‑Fi net­works that you’ve previously used when you’re not aware. As mentioned, when logging on to a new net­work, verify that it’s one you can trust.
• Use a VPN for full public Wi‑Fi security. A VPN will encrypt your connection end to end between your device and the VPN server, so your traffic can’t be spied on.

Do you want to ensure your security and privacy on public Wi‑Fi?

To encrypt all your traffic and keep you safe on public Wi‑Fi, a personal VPN such as F‑Secure VPN is the easiest, most secure, and most versatile solution. VPN guards your privacy online and makes your traffic very difficult to inter­cept on public Wi‑Fi. You can try it for free with no credit card required!

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Is public WiFi safe to use?

We have all done it: connected to a free public WiFi network we did not know to check emails, read the news, or scroll Instagram. What we often do not think about is that the same convenience that makes public WiFi so easy to use is also what makes it so attractive to hackers. Since most public WiFi services lack a strong password, they are vulnerable to a number of techniques that hackers can use to observe your online activity, collect your personal and financial data, or even break into your device.

Risks of using Public WiFi

Here are some fairly simple exploits that a hacker could use to access your device while you are connected to public WiFi:

1. Man-in-the-middle

In a MITM attack, the hacker intercepts the network traffic being transmitted between your device and the WiFi router, allowing them to monitor your online activity and even alter your interaction with websites. One method is called “ARP spoofing” in which the hacker associates their media access control address with the IP address of your device causing any traffic meant for your IP address to be shared with the hacker. This can all be done without the end user – you – realizing anything is amiss. Meanwhile, the hacker behind the MITM attack could potentially read every email you open and watch every password you enter. They can even redirect you to spoof websites, which look like the legitimate website you wanted but are actually under the control of the hacker, allowing them to steal any information you enter

2. Malicious hotspots

Often when you are in an airport or in a mall looking for free WiFi you will see several WiFi networks with very similar names, like “Airport_WiFi,” “Airport_Public_WiFI,” and “Airport_WiFi_Free.” In these cases, it is very likely that a hacker has created their own hotspot and is trying to pass it off as the legitimate public WiFi. If you connect to a hotspot controlled by a hacker, all your network traffic is visible to them unless you are using a VPN.

3. Malware

If you have enabled file-sharing or Bluetooth or if you are connected to an unsecured WiFi network, hackers can connect to your device and send it malware. This is what the hacking group known as “Darkhotel” did, targeting business travelers that stayed at luxury hotels. Malware encompasses a lot of nasty software and programs that are designed to steal your bandwidth, shut down your device, or even give complete control of it to a hacker. What’s worse, most malware works in the background of your device’s operating system, making it hard to detect and eliminate without the proper software.

4. WiFi sniffing

There are numerous programs available that allow you to monitor a hotspot’s network traffic. If the WiFi network is not secured, either due to a reliance on insecure protocols or because there is no password or both, these types of programs allow hackers to capture data packets and analyze them. With this information, they can easily monitor your online activity, steal your passwords, and see any personal or financial information you access while you are online.

5 ways to stay safe on public WiFi

While public WiFi will never be 100 percent secure, there are some simple steps that you can take to reduce your vulnerability.

1. Use a trustworthy VPN

A VPN is the best protection you can have when connecting to a public WiFi network. A VPN will encrypt your network traffic, meaning that even if someone is intercepting your data, they still cannot see it without decrypting it. This makes it impossible for them to monitor your online activity in real time. A VPN combined with HTTPS makes it very difficult for a hacker to perform a MITM attack.

2. Use HTTPS to ensure you are visiting the right site

If you visit sites using HTTPS (or if you use the EFF browser extension HTTPS Everywhere) you are encrypting part of your network traffic and making it more difficult for someone running a MITM attack to send you to a spoofed website they control.

3. Disable automatic connections, Bluetooth, and file sharing

You should always be aware of what network your device is connected to. The easiest way to do this is to disable automatic connections. That way you will need to select what WiFi network you connect to. It may add an extra step, but it prevents your device from being connected to a WiFi network and exposed to risks without you knowing. The same logic applies to Bluetooth and AirDrop and other file sharing services. Only activate Bluetooth, AirDrop or other file sharing services for a specific function and then turn it off once you are finished.

4. Know who runs your hotspot – and ask for the password

Before logging on, you should always find an employee of the hotel/café/airport you are in and ask them if they have free WiFi and what the name of their network is. This will help you avoid connecting to malicious and fake hotspots. Even if you verify the WiFi network is genuine and it is password-protected, we still advise you to avoid using it without first protecting your connection with a VPN.

5. Avoid sensitive accounts

If you use public WiFi without a VPN, the best way to ensure your personal data is not compromised is to not check accounts that could expose that information. Even if someone has successfully begun monitoring your online activity, if you do not check your bank accounts, open your emails, or read private messages while you are on public WiFi, then then they cannot access them either. If you are going to check any type of sensitive account on an unsecured network, always use a VPN.

Proton VPN is brought to you by Proton Mail, the world’s largest encrypted email provider. It is a free VPN service that provides IP addresses in 43 countries and counting.

There will always be a security risk if you use public WiFi, but that does not mean you should never use it. The basic precautions listed above will help you keep your personal data safe from the majority of attacks against public WiFi hotspots.

Best Regards,
The Proton VPN Team

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To get a free Proton Mail encrypted email account, visit: protonmail.com

Richie Koch

Prior to joining Proton, Richie spent several years working on tech solutions in the developing world. He joined the Proton team to advance the rights of online privacy and freedom.

27 comments

Am I suppose to buy proton for each of my devices? I have up graded to the 3rd package and it still shows that I am on the free package. How can I move to a different countries Ip?

Hi Anthony. If you buy a Plus plan you can use ProtonVPN on up to 5 devices at the same time using the same account. With a Visionary plan this number goes up to 10. To change countries, simply select a different country (or individual server) from the list in our apps. If you have upgraded to Plus or Visionary plan, but your app is still saying you are on the free plan, please contact our Support Team for assistance.

I have had issues where I can not navigate on any browser My wifi does connect to a network, but it suddenly stopped navigating any browser. My emails however are still comming in. I thought my wifi antena or computer were broken, took it to the shop, and as soon as they erased proton VPN, the browsers started navigating again. Why does this happen. this happened both with the VPN on and off. Must clarify that this happened with the free version of VPN.

I downloaded Proton VPN on my mac and it has been awful. I have like 50 windows telling me my wifi is insecure, but they will not close. I cannot quit the app, I cannot delete the app because it will not close. It is taking up my entire desktop and doing nothing. How the hell do I get it off my computer.

Hi Emma, this shouldn’t be happening. Please reach out to our support team: https://protonvpn.com/support-form Thank you!

Hello! I am very new to all of this vpn and encryption stuff. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but… if I use ProtonMail / ProtonVPN, through my employer’s WiFi, will my employer be able to read my personal messages? Thanks!

Hi Maxwell, good question. If you are using your personal ProtonMail account, your employer will not be able to monitor your messages.

PtotonVPN has proven reliable with over 90% of traffic routing I make between work and outside servers, is there an additional layer of encryption you would recommend for local level FIPS140-2 or higher that would encrypt email not sent via ProtonMail accounts? It would also be helpful if file attachments met FIPS140-2 or higher locally before being sent over open connection routers or public hotspots.

Hi,
I have downloaded ProtonVPN Free for Windows. I did that hoping that I can safely use a public Hotspot.
So I connected to your Server FR#31 using the hotspot to connect to your server. I now see an IP number but how do I know, that ProtonVPN is working and that I’m “invisible” for all other participants of the hotspot?
Thank you for a quick reply.
best regards, Dietmar

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