4 Strategies to Be Secure on Public Wi-Fi

Travel is becoming more popular these days. You can travel to distant locations for a vacation or simply go to the local cafe to soak up the atmosphere. That means it's time to revisit old-fashioned practices, too.

Like everything else we're having to relearn (how does small talk work? ) Good practices for security on public Wi-Fi might need some refreshers as well.

You can be viewed by other people, which is an issue of privacy as well as security. Here are four easy guidelines to help you stay safe while out and about.

Be aware of the networks you join

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First, you must be aware of the public networks you choose to join. Anyone can scan the traffic that passes through the network. All they have to install is a program that captures data packets from their computer. Transfer data that is not encrypted on websites and your private information goes up for grabs.

Your primary goal should be to avoid open networks that are managed by unidentified administrators. You should stay clear of obvious bad actors. Airports, department stores and hotels are more reliable over other places. They don't have Wi-Fi to spy on people who use it. (At least, not for the purpose of sussing out residence addresses or credit card information, national ID numbers, and the like.) Be aware of the spelling of names for networks-don't be fooled by imposters.

Are you unsure if your Wi-Fi is in use in your area? While most public Wi-Fi networks operated by large organizations require you to accept conditions before being allowed to use the network, small companies that have the capacity to share your password with patrons do not need to.

However, since anyone connected to any network can see its traffic, you still require additional security. That's where the remaining three tips in this article come in. Remember, any network accessible by the public is considered public Wi-Fi, even if you must pay for access (like in airports, hotels, or hotels).

Make sure that your firewall is on.

If you leave your computer's TCP and UDP ports open is similar to leaving your home's external doors unlocked and unmonitored. You'll need a way to shield these ports from traffic requests, effectively blocking view of the doors so that no one can get in and access them. This is what firewall software does.

Windows 10 and 11 should default to a firewall. But if for some reason you've been fiddling around with your settings, make sure it is still on before connecting to public Wi-Fi. Simply open your Settings app and enter Firewall & Network Protection into the search field.

Use HTTPS everywhere

Make sure that you're using websites that send data via encrypted connections. Websites today should utilize this kind of secure connection. However, some older sites (or explicitly criminal ones) do not.

Your browser should inform you when you're not there, but you can also manually check. Look for https at beginning of the URL.

Instead, you can use an unsecure HTTP connection (notice the absence of an "s") to exchange traffic with the site. Anyone connected to your network will be able to see the traffic. This includes sensitive information such as user names, passwords and payment info, addresses and the like. (This Cloudflare page explains how this works in greater detail.)

Naturally, when you're connected to the public Wi-Fi network you're sharing your network with a large number of people who might be able to see what you're up to-and without knowing who might be pursuing bad intentions. You won't be seen as an easy prey if browse over an encrypted connection.

You can also download the HTTPS Everywhere extension from the Electronic Freedom Foundation for additional protection. It is available for Chrome, Firefox and Edge.

Open VPN VPN

As previously mentioned that when you access a secure website when you're on public Wi-Fi others on your network can't see the details of the information exchanged. However, they can detect that you're visiting that site.

You might not care if you are using Google or TikTok. But take it to checking your bank balance on your PC or phone and the stakes are raised.

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It's not always easy to return home to attend to certain business. To protect your privacy, you can channel your computer's or smartphone's web activity via virtual private networks (VPN). To use one, you first connect to the Wi-Fiand then connect to the VPN. After both those connections are established, you can continue with your normal web browsing. All traffic is sent through the VPN's servers. Anyone who is monitoring network traffic will not be able to see the websites or services that you visit during that session and only your computer will be sending and receiving data.
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It is essential to be able to trust your VPN for this to work. Most free VPNs are not reliable and don't always safeguard your privacy as effectively as paid services. Make sure you use vetted VPNs, like those in our best free VPN roundup. It is recommended to upgrade to one of our recommended VPN services for paid use to get faster speeds and access more servers around the world. If you travel internationally, you'll need to have access to servers across the globe. If you don't have local servers, your internet browsing experience will be slowed due to having to route your traffic across the ocean.