Wi fi in public places

Our latest survey: how do people use WiFi in public places?

Do you actively try to find free WiFi when you are out and about? Do you even access it if it’s available? We surveyed a whopping 2540 people and our results were very interesting.

Demographics of our respondents

The respondents were nearly of equally mixed gender with just over half answering who were male. The majority of respondents were from the UK but we managed to gather data from over 30 countries.

Free WiFi means more customers and more money

Our findings confirmed that most customers appreciate the provision of free WiFi in the places they visit, as 72% of respondents told us that they do use WiFi in public places. Of these, 78% said that they actively looked for and would be more likely to visit a place that offered them free WiFi. Three quarters of the people surveyed who do use WiFi said that they spend more time at a venue offering free WiFi and two thirds suggested that they were likely to spend more money there.

Time flies when you are on free public WiFi

Just under half of public WiFi users access it once a week or more, 18% said they use it more than once a day. The majority of respondents said their actual log-on time is for up to 30 minutes at a time. 38% of users said they use it for between 30 minutes and one and a half hours. Some even report using it for more than one and a half hours (7%).

The main usage seemed to go on checking emails, with many also checking social media sites and browsing websites.

Banking on the WiFi?

In addition to these uses, the data also indicated that 17% do their banking via unsecured public WiFi, which is worrying. With 87% checking emails and 27% using public WiFi for work purposes, there is obviously a great need to make public networks more secure.

What do people want from public WiFi?

An easy login process was the winner here. Even of those we questioned who said they don’t use WiFi in public cited this as the leading reason why they might be tempted to use it.

The availability of free WiFi was reported as a close second improvement. The majority of people questioned said that they wouldn’t consider paying for a better bandwidth connection to use WiFi in public.

When actually deciding which network to connect to, 47% said that they would look for a brand name. The survey also revealed that content filtering should be made a legal requirement, according to most of the respondents.

Why people don’t connect to public WiFi

The main reason seemed to be that some people weren’t using mobile devices at all in public places. Of those who were, 27% worried that the network wasn’t secure, totalling 6% of everyone questioned. Some said they didn’t know how to use it and others felt that the registration process was too long.

When questioned whether they knew some of the benefits of connecting to WiFi, most respondents seemed to know it can be accessed for free in many venues. However, two thirds didn’t know it could block inappropriate content and nearly 80% were unaware that customers can be sent vouchers and offers via the WiFi connection.

Public knowledge of how to access free WiFi is still lacking

Confusion about how to get online still exists. Purple WiFi’s research reveals 66% of people were confused about how to get online; 54% believe they are automatically connected in a venue that offers WiFi, 7% believe they need to switch off and on again and 5% admitted that they simply don’t know how to access public WiFi at all.

So it seems that whilst many people are getting connected to WiFi whilst out and about, there are lots of people and businesses that aren’t fulfilling the true potential of public WiFi just yet.

Purple WiFi are proud to alleviate many of the main issues found in the survey, with easy social login, a secure guest WiFi network and best practice content filtering.

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When Using Free Wi-Fi Networks In Public Places, You Should Take Care Of Your Security. Otherwise, You Will Lose All Your Data!

In recent years, the concept of remote work has attracted more attention from employers, which has turned coffee shops and other public places into the second workplace of many people!

People naturally want to do their work responsibilities from a coffee shop or other favorite places instead of working in a stuffy and stressful work environment.

On the other hand, working from public places, mainly with accessible Wi-Fi networks, will have many security risks for you.

Therefore, if you are one of the people who prefer working remotely to working in the workplace, you should follow some tips to protect your information.

Today we are trying to teach important security tips that you should follow when using accessible Wi-Fi networks. If you follow these tips as much as possible, you can be sure of the security of your data. However, not following these tips can have serious security consequences for you.

What security tips should be observed when using free Wi-Fi?

Use a VPN

A VPN can be a strong fortress for your connection and keep your activity safe from potential threats by encrypting your internet activity.

When connected to a public Wi-Fi network, a VPN acts as an encrypted connection between your device and the Internet, protecting your data from cyber threats.

A powerful and safe VPN is necessary, incredibly when busy with sensitive activities such as shopping in stores, banking, or economic matters!

Connecting to a VPN is a simple process. In the first step, you should choose the exemplary VPN service for your needs and budget. Suitable options that have been used by many people and have attracted the satisfaction of many users are Private Internet Access, NordVPN, and Surfshark.

Many VPN providers offer users various services, from essential free services to paid subscriptions with more features.

After you have chosen your service provider and purchased the desired service, you need to install the related software on your system and then connect to the desired server through the username and password provided to you.

When using a VPN, you should pay attention to some points. First, you should ensure that the service provider does not store any information about your internet search history and other things.

Also, always try to choose services that use robust security protocols and offer multiple servers in different parts of the world that you can connect to.

Also, remember that a VPN service may reduce your internet speed; it transfers the information to another server and then provides it.

Connect to secure public Wi-Fi networks.

The most important principle for people who plan to work remotely is to maintain the security and safety of personal data. Therefore, observing security tips when you use accessible Wi-Fi networks becomes doubly important.

In this regard, you should always try to connect to reliable Wi-Fi networks to maximize the risk of information theft and work efficiently.

For this, l must first know the difference between encrypted and unencrypted networks to choose the safest and most secure option possible.

As their name suggests, encrypted networks use different encryption protocols and require a password to connect.

To identify this network category, you should ensure that a lock will be visible next to their network name in the list of available networks.

Of course, you should be careful that some well-known public places provide free and secure Internet to their customers. For example, McDonald’s or Starbucks coffee chains are always committed to delivering safe Internet, and connecting to their access networks will make you feel at ease about security.

In the meantime, places such as public libraries or some more private places are usually known for providing secure Wi-Fi networks!

Look for the HTTPS protocol.

Another security point you must follow when accessing the Internet through accessible Wi-Fi networks is using sites with HTTPS prefixes.

The secure HTTPS protocol encrypts the data exchanged between your device and the Internet, providing a secondary security layer on your sensitive data.

Most modern browsers, such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge, distinguish websites that use this protocol from those with graphic symbols.

For example, a lock displays websites with secure HTTPS protocol in Google Chrome.

Modern browsers warn users if they access unsafe websites and inform them of their possible consequences.

Using HTTPS becomes more critical when using a public Wi-Fi network; Because, in this situation, your data is exposed to more cyber risks, and using this protocol can create an additional layer of security between your device and the website server.

This protocol makes it much harder for hackers to access your crucial information, such as login information, personal data, or bank account details.

Also, to increase your safety, you can use extensions such as HTTPS Everywhere, which will connect you to a more secure version, if possible when you connect to any website.

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Are Public Wi-Fi Networks Safe? What You Need To Know

Public Wi-Fi networks, or hotspots, in coffee shops, malls, airports, hotels, and other places are convenient. In the early days of the internet, they often weren’t secure. But things have changed. Here’s what you need to know about your safety when you connect to a public Wi-Fi network.

How You Know Your Information Is Safe When You’re Using a Public Wi-Fi Network

When you connect to a website, information travels from your device to the website. That could include sensitive data like the log in information for your financial, email, or social media accounts.

In the past, if you used a public Wi-Fi network to get online, your information was at risk. That’s because most websites didn’t use encryption to scramble the data and protect it from hackers snooping on the network.

Today, most websites do use encryption to protect your information. Because of the widespread use of encryption, connecting through a public Wi-Fi network is usually safe.

How do you know your connection is encrypted? Look for a lock symbol or https in the address bar to the left of the website address. This works on a mobile browser, too. It can be hard to tell if a mobile app uses encryption, but the majority do.

Best Practices for Protecting Your Personal Information Online

No matter how you get online, it’s always a good idea to take some steps to protect your personal information. Start with these.

Protect your online accounts and devices

Create and use strong passwords and turn on two-factor authentication when it’s available.

If you use a computer to get online, make sure your security software, operating system, and internet browser are up to date. Update your phone’s operating system, too. And turn on automatic updates to keep up with the latest protections.

Recognize scammers

Scammers pretend to be someone they’re not, like a representative from a well-known company or the government, to rip you off or steal your personal information. They also create fake websites and encrypt them to make you think they’re safe when they’re not. If you visit a scammer’s website, your data may be encrypted on its way to the site, but it won’t be safe from scammers operating the site.

Report Scammers

Report scammers to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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